of  t|)e 

canitjer]8!itp  of  Bottb  CatoUna 


UNIVERSITY    OF    NORTH    CAROLINA 


ano 

Philanthropic  & 


o    ~ 

\    s 
vA  ^ 


CARD 


Please   Ixeep    this   card   in 
book   pocket 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 

iimimmi 

0000581283 


s 

t 

1     s 

f 

1-'; 

-.-, 

. 

1      ^ 

-■•■" 

"1 

■" 

t— 

■x 

^ 

r  .. 

I.'! 

'^ 

5 

F^ 

1— 

_ 

£: 

1      s 

1 

Cl 

!..J 
1 , 

" 

_     .J- 

^ 

•>•  r    -[^V' 


THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 


ENDOWED  BY  THE 

DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 

SOCIETIES 


BV3T85 

.j6 

j6 

190T 


^ 

^ 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


10000581283 


This  book  is  due  at  the  LOUIS  R.  WILSON  LIBRARY  on  the 
last  date  stamped  under  "Date  Due."  If  not  on  hold  it  may  be 
renewed  by  bringing  it  to  the  library. 


DATE 
Dl'E     * 


.^     RET. 


DATE 
DUE 


RET. 


.PR  0  3  C 


OOt 


4^ 


^k_jliL 


?f 


JUN   1  8  20t 


-Auar.iisby 


Li}]] 


mM 


1993 


iTw^rm 


avno  9 


fe. 


-j^---- 


:Ml..6]J3i 


MAR  0  4 


19M 


♦Of, 


— m^ 


h^f^t 


4001 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/lifesayingofsannpOOjone 


Life  and  Sayings 
of  Sam  P.  Jones 


The  Only  Author- 
ized and  Authentic 
Work 


BY  HIS  WIFE 

Assisted  by 

Rev.  Walt  Holcomb,  a 

Co-worker  of  Mr.  Jones 

/  //  y                     '•~v'^  ^  /  -O    - 

^7C 

7C 

^     '9oy 

1907 

THE  FRANKLIN-TURNER  CO. 

PUBLISHERS 

ATLANTA,  GEORGIA 

A.  N.  JENKINS  ^  SCOTT 

SOLE  DISTRIBUTORS 
Austell  Building,  ATLANTA,  GA. 


Copyright  1906,  by 
MRS.  SAM  P.  JONES 


^ 


CONTENTS. 

Foreword 17 

INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER. 
As  I  Knew  Him , 19 

CHAPTER    II.    • 
His  Ancestry 33 

CHAPTER  III. 
His  Eari^y  Days 42 

CHAPTER   IV. 
His  Conversion  and  First  Sermon 50 

CHAPTER   V. 
His  First  Work  in  the  ConeerEnce 57 

CHAPTER   VI. 
Other  Pastorates  and  Revivaes ^2, 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Earey  Evangeeistic  Work  and  Last  Pastorate.  . ., 81 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Orphans'  Home  and  Revivae  Work 90 

CHAPTER  IX. 
His  Fame  Spreading , 100 

(9) 


C< 


10  Contents. 

CHAPTER    X. 
Revivals  in  Southern  Towns 112 

CHAPTER   XI. 
In  Brooklyn  With  Dr.  Taemage. 124 

CHAPTER   XII. 
That  Memorable  Meeting. , 133 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
That  Memorable  Meeting   (Continued) 143 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
In  Missouri  and  St.  Louis 1 56 

CHAPTER  XV. 
In  Missouri  and  St.  Louis  (Continued) 167 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Cincinnati  Revival 1 76 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
Cincinnati  Revival  (Continued) 187 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
The  Chicago  Campaign 198 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
The  Chicago  Campaign  (Continued) 208 

CHAPTER   XX. 
The  Baltimore  Awakening 217 


Contents.  11 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Th^  Bai^timori;  Awakening   (Continued) 225 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
Indl^napoIvISj  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis 233 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 
In  Toronto  and  Canada 237 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Omaha  and  Kansas  City 248 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
The  Great  Work  in  Boston 254 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

On  the  Pacific  Coast 263 

I. — Los  Angeles 263 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

On  the  Pacieic  Coast  (Continued) 269 

II. — Sacramento 269 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

On  the  Pacific  Coast  (Continued) 275 

III. — San  Francisco 275 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 
Toledo  Meeting 280 

CHAPTER  XXX. 
The  Work  in  the  South 284 


-12  Contents. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
The  Work  in  the  South  (Continued) 295 

CHAPTER  XXXn. 
His  Liee  and  Work  at  Cartersville 306 

CHAPTER   XXXTTI. 
Mr.  Jones — A  Study 316 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

A  Summary 333 

The  FiETiETH  Anniversary 333 

CHAPTER   XXXV. 
Dead  Soij)ier  oe  the  Cross  Comes  Home 341 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
The  Eunerai,  Service 347 

CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
Body  Lies  in  State  in  Atianta 363 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Memoriai,  Services 371 

Tributes  at  Nashvilee 371 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

Memoriae  Services  (Continued) 391 

Service  at  Chattanooga 391 


Contents.  13 

CHAPTER  XL. 

Memoriai.  Services  (Continued) 399 

Addresses  at  Atlanta. 399 

Rev.  a.  W.  Lamar 407 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

Appreciations  from  Prominent  Ministers 409 

Bishop  O.  P.  Fitzgerald 409 

Rev.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman,  D.D 412 

CHAPTER  XLII. 

Appreciations  from  Distinguished  Men 414 

Hon.  John  Temple  Graves 414 

Hon.  William  Jennings  Bryan 415 

In  Memoriam — Sam  Jones.    Hon.  Thomas  E.  Watson  ....  416 

CHAPTER  XLHL 
Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones 423 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 
Saylngs  of  Sam  P.  Jones  (Continued) 428 

CHAPTER  XLV. 
Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones  (Continued) 433 

CHAPTER  XLVL 
Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones  (Continued) 43? 

CHAPTER   XLVn. 
Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones-  (Continued) 443 


14  Contents. 

CHAPTER   XLVIII. 
Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones  (Continued) 449 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 
Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones  (Continued) 455 

CHAPTER    L. 
Sayings  oe  Sam  P.  Jones  (Continued) 460 

ILL'USTRATIONS. 

Forty-eight  pages  of  Illustrations,  not  page-numbered,  plus  464    type  pages 
equal  to  512  pages  in  Volume. 


Co  ^ig  CiJilDten 


REV.  SAM  P.  JONES. 


FOREWORD. 


While  in  the  last  meeting  Mr.  Jones  conducted,  which  was  in 
Oklahoma  City,  in  conversation  with  me,  he  suggested  that  we  set 
apart  the  month  of  December  for  the  purpose  of  getting  together  the 
material  for  a  book  containing  the  story  of  his  life  and  v/ork.  It 
was  Mr.  Jones's  wish  that  we  write  the  book,  and  he  requested  Rev. 
Walt  Holcomb,  who  was  associated  with  him  in  evangelistic  work, 
to  spend  December  in  our  home  and  assist  us.  Our  plans  were  made 
to  do  as  he  suggested. 

But  in  the  Providence  of  God,  Mr.  Jones  was  called  to  his  reward ; 
and  Mr.  Holcomb  and  I  are  left  to  carry  out  his  plans.  Acting  upon 
the  advice  of  friends,  vv^e  began  the  manuscript  as  early  as  my 
strength  w^ould  permit,  and  we  liave  followed  the  best  we  knew  how 
v.'hat  we  belie\'e  would  have  been  his  wishes  could  he  have  spoken 
to  us. 

For  nearly  thirty-five  years  I  have  preserved  newspaper  and 
magazine  accounts  of  his  great  meetings  throughout  the  United 
States.  In  order  to  get  our  bearings,  and  map  out  the  best  plan  for 
the  book,  it  w^as  necessary  to  get  the  material  chronologicalh'  ar- 
ranged, and  do  much  careful  and  discriminating  reading. 

We  have  not  tried  to  give  a  critical  study  of  Mr.  Jones  and  his 
labors,  but  to  present  them  in  the  simplest  w^ay,  that  those  w^ho 
knev/  and  loved  him  might  have  a  true  record  of  his  long,  useful 
career.  The  book,  however,  will  be  suggestive  to  those  who'  wish 
to  knov/  the  secret  of  his  wonderful  life.  We  have  made  free  use 
of   illustrations,    anecdotes    and    stories    related   by    Tv'Ir.    Jones    to 

2j  (17) 


18  Foreword. 

make  the  work  characteristic  of  himself.  As  there  is  such  a  demand 
for  his  "Sayings,"  we  have  included  many  of  them.  The  reader 
may  follow  his  development,  his  crowning  ministry,  and  study  him 
in  the  many  capacities  in  which  he  served. 

Some  of  the  tributes  given  at  the  funeral  and  the  memorial  sen/- 
ices  have  been  used.  We  regret  that  we  could  not  use  all  of  them. 
Other  tributes  prepared  by  friends  appear  in  the  volume. 

Rumors  of  unauthorized  books  coming  into  the  field  made  it 
necessary  for  this  one  to  be  given  to  the  public  as  early  as  possible. 

Many  friends  have  been  very  generous  in  supplying  us  with 
valuable  material  for  the  manuscript,  which  we  gratefully  acknowl- 
edge. 


BOOK  ONE 


His  Development 


The  Life  and  Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones. 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER. 


As  I  Knew  Him. 

The  saddest  task  my  love  could  perform  is  this  tribute  to  my 
husband,  in  writing  the  story  of  his  life,  and  when  I  attempt  to 
write  of  him  as  I  knew  him  my  heart  is  filled  with  sadness,  and  my 
eyes  with  tears,  for  I  knew  him  in  the  most  sacred  relations  of  life, 
first  as  his  sweetheart,  his  wife,  his  helpmeet,  the  companion  of  his 
youth,  the  mother  of  his  children,  whom  he  loved  more  than  his  own 
life,  and  then  when  the  frost  began  to  fall  as  a  mantle  upon  his 
head,  and  the  weight  of  care  and  the  burden  of  years  to  bend  the 
precious  shoulders  that  bore  so  many  burdens  for  the  careworn  and 
overburdened  fellow  man,  whom  he  tried  to  help,  and  labored  and 
wore  himself  out  in  a  life  of  service  to  save — we  were  all  the  more 
to  each  other,  and  our  love  instead  of  diminishing  grew  and  grew 
until  it  seems  to  me  since  he  has  gone  from  me  so  suddenly,  slipped 
away  from  me,  leaving  me  the  sacred  charge  of  following  him, 
leading  our  children  to  the  foot  of  the  Cross — and  finally  reuniting 
on  the  mom  of  the  Resurrection — that  until  that  day  my  life  must 
remain  incomplete.  I  could  not  tell  of  him  as  I  knew  him;  no 
words,  no  language  could  describe  him. 

I  have  often  heard  him  say  in  public  life,  as  well  as  at  home,  "The 
highest  ambition  I  have  on  earth  is  to  have  those  who  survive  me 
say  of  me  when  I  am  dead  and  gone,  'Sam  Jones  lived  up  to  and 
died  b^  his  convictions.'  That  I  was  a  true  man,  a  good  husband,  a 
good  father  to  my  children  and  a  good  neighbor  and  citizen,  with- 
out reproach."     I  believe  the  supreme  wish  of  his  life  has  been 

(19) 


20  Sam  p.  Jones. 

granted.  The  people  of  Cartersville  will  testify  that  he  was  a 
neighbor  and  a  citizen  without  reproach.  His  audiences  all  over  the 
United  States  and  Canada  will  testify  that  he  lived  up  to  his  con- 
victions and  was  willing  to  suffer  for  them,  and  all  his  children 
will  unite  in  declaring  that  he  was  the  most  patient,  gentle  and  the 
tenderest  of  fathers,  and  I  feel  sure  that  I  will  not  weai*y  the  readei's 
of  this  book  Vvdien  I  declare  to  them  that  he  was  an  ideal  husband. 
I  have  reason  to  know,  for  I  have  been  his  cherished  companion,  not 
only  in  the  privacy  of  our  home,  but  in  public  life  during  all  these 
years  of  his  noble  career. 

It  was  in  the  home  of  Mr.  Austin  Dupuy,  whose  father  owned 
the  adjoining  farm  to  my  father's,  that  this  young  man  was  a 
visitor  during  the  eight  m.onths  of  his  stay  in  Kentucky.  He  was 
taken  in  as  a  son  of  the  household  and  soon  became  the  most  talked- 
O'f  personage  in  the  neighborhood,  for  most  of  that  part  of  the 
country  during  the  Civil  War  was  in  sympathy  with  the  North, 
and  this  young  man  was  the  son  of  a  Confederate  captain,  and  he 
created  a  good  deal  of  interest  among  the  people. 

This  family  being  such  intimate  friends  of  my  father's  it  was  per- 
fectly natural  that  my  brothers  should  very  soon  know  this  young 
man,  and  he  v/as  invited  to  our  home;  in  fact,  was  a  constant  visitor 
there  during  his  entire  stay  in  Kentucky. 

It  was  on  a  Friday  afternoon  in  January,  1864,  that,  in  company 
with  one  of  my  young  girl  friends,  it  was  my  privilege  to  come 
home  and  spend  the  Sabbath,  fromi  the  boarding-school  in  New- 
castle, Ky.,  that  I  met  this  young  man.  When  I  got  home  my 
mother  was  full  of  praises  for  Sam  Jones,  the  Georgia  boy,  who  had 
come  home  with  Lieutenant  Dupuy,  and  when  my  brother  came  we 
were  all  delighted  that  he  had  brought  him  with  him  to  spend  the 
night.  And  my  first  introduction  to  him  was  by  my  mother,  who 
said,  "Laura,  this  is  Sam  Jones  from  Georgia.''  I  looked  at  him 
and  saw  a  bright-faced  boy  with  large  brown  eyes,  and  my  heart 
went  out  to  him  in  sympathy,  for  I  had  heard  something  of  his 
history  and  separation  from  his  fam.ily  from  my  mother.  This 
was  the  first  sight  of  the  boy  who  was,  in  after  years,  to  become 
my  cherished  companion,  and  whose  name  was  to^  become  a  house- 
hold word  all  over  the  land. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  21 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  of  1864,  it  was  made  possible  for  him 
to  return  South  and  join  his  mother  in  Lumpkin,  Ga.  I  often  met 
him  during  the  remainder  of  his  stay  in  the  community  and  grew 
to  hke  him.  After  he  left  us  he  corresponded  regularly  with  my 
younger  brother,  but  it  was  quite  a  surprise  when  I  received  my 
first  letter  from  him,  after  he  had  been  away  several  months.  From 
this  time  we  corresponded  regularly. 

In  1867  Capt.  John  Jones,  Mr.  Jones's  father,  was  commissioned 
to  go  into  the  Middle  States  and  solicit  supplies  for  the  people  of  the 
desolated  South,  and  traveling  through  Kentucky,  he  made  it  con- 
venient to  visit  the  friends  of  his  son  in  Henry  county.  He  came 
to  our  home  and  made  me  very  happy  by  chance  allusions  to  his  son 
Sam,  whose  image  at  this  time  was  deeply  graven  on  my  girlish 
heart,  and  from  whom  I  received  frequent  letters.  In  this  time  of 
struggling  poverty  in  the  South  Mr.  Jones  was  unable  to  return  to 
Kentucky  to  see  me,  and  for  four  years  we  corresponded,  but  were 
not  engaged  until  the  spring  of  1868.  At  this  time  he  was  studying 
law,  and  expecting  to  be  admitted  to  the  Bar  the  first  of  November 
of  the  same  year,  i^nd  we  had  decided  on  this  time  for  our  mar- 
riage. After  being  admitted  to  the  Bar  in  the  courts  of  Georgia, 
he  took  the  first  train  for  my  home,  and  on  November  24,  1868, 
we  w^ere  married  very  quietly,  the  marriage  being  witnessed  only  by 
my  mother,  brothers  and  a  few  relatives  and  friends.  My  father 
refused  to  witness  the  ceremony,  because  he  had  learned  since  Mr. 
Jones's  return  to  Kentucky  that  he  had  become  dissipated — but, 
thank  God,  long  before  my  father's  death  he  saw  God's  hand  in 
my  choice,  and  learned  to  love  Mr.  Jones  as  his  own  son.  My 
brothers  were  not  entirely  willing  to  entrust  the  care  of  their  only 
sister,  then  a  young  girl  of  eighteen,  to  this  young  man  of  whom  they 
knew  so  little — but  my  mother,  the  high-bred,  spirited  woman  that 
she  was,  said,  "Now,  Laura,  you've  promised  to  marry  Sam  Jones, 
he  has  come  for  you,  and  you  are  going  to  redeem  your  promise." 
She  never  regretted  this  advice,  and  through  the  long  years  of  her 
widowhood  he  was  a  son  in  evei"}^  respect,  and  she  often  said  she 
knew  no  difference  in  her  love  for  me  and  her  love  for  Mr.  Jones. 

In  after-years  the  homestead  came  into  my  possession,  but  my 


22  Sam  P.  Jones. 

mother  made  it  her  home  as  long  as  she  hved,  spending  her  winters 
with  us  and  her  summers  in  Kentucky,  and  so  it  was  made  possible 
for  me  to  go  and  spend  a  portion  of  the  time  with  her.  And  here 
Mr.  Jones  would  snatch  a  day  or  two  frequently  from  his  many 
engagements,  coming  to  the  home  of  my  girlhood  to  live  over  the 
old  scenes  of  happiness  of  our  youthful  days,  when  no  thought  of 
the  future,  with  its  cares,  responsibilities,  perplexities,  and,  above 
all,  its  increasing,  abiding  love,  growing  stronger  each  day,  came 
to  us.  When  I  was  called  to  my  home  one  day  in  August, 
1895,  to  see  my  mother  before  she  passed  away,  Mr.  Jones  was  in 
Baltimore  engaged  in  a  camp-meeting  at  Emory  Grove,  and  our 
eldest  daughter,  Mrs.  Turner,  was  in  the  Johns  Hopkins  hospital 
very  ill ;  he  joined  me  to  pay  the  last  tribute  to  her  whom  he  had 
loved  as  a  mother,  and  to  whom  he  had  shown  every  respect.  And 
when  she  left  us,  we  went  to  the  little  church  where  she  worshipped 
and  Mr.  Jones  made  such  a  beautiful  talk,  thrilling  those  who 
gathered  to  pay  their  last  tribute  of  love;  how  my  mother  loved 
him,  and  stood  by  him  and  had  indeed  been  his  mother  since  the 
day  he  came  to  Kentucky  in  1868  to  claim  her  only  daughter  as 
his  wife. 

After  our  marriage  we  left  at  once  for  Mr.  Jones's  home  in 
Georgia.  In  those  days  traveling  facilities  were  greatly  inferior 
to  those  of  the  present  day,  and  it  took  us  three  days  to  make  the 
trip  from  Kentucky  to  Cartersville,  which  was  to  be  our  home  for 
a  time.  We  were  welcomed  by  Mr.  Jones's  family  and  were  en- 
tertained for  some  weeks  in  his  father's  home.  Never  will  I  forget 
those  days.  I  was  a  proud,  high-spirited  Kentucky  girl,  who  had 
been  raised  in  affluence,  and  these  new  surroundings  were  so  differ- 
ent to  any  I  had  been  accustomed  to.  On  the  first  Sunday  after  our 
marriage  Mr.  Jones  and  I  went  to  church  with  his  father  and 
mother,  and  when  we  got  to  the  door  of  the  church  a  sudden  shy- 
ness seemed  to  come  over  him,  and  he  left  me,  after  starting  up  the 
aisle  with  me,  to  walk  alone  and  sit  with  his  parents,  and  he  went 
back  and  sat  near  the  door  during  the  service.  But,  I  am  glad  to 
say,  in  all  the  thirty-eight  years  of  our  married  life  this  was  the 
first  and  only  time  he  deserted  me.  He  said  I  taught  him  better 
when  I  got  home  that  memorable  day. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  23 

Mr.  Jones  had  been  admitted  to  the  Bar  before  our  marriage  and 
his  prospects  seemed  bright  for  the  future,  but  for  the  South  the 
times  were  very  straightened,  and  professional  men  of  experience 
often  suffered  from  lack  of  employment  and  poor  pay  for  service 
they  rendered;  so  a  young  man  necessarily  had  little  advantage. 
Thinking  he  would  be  more  successful  elsewhere,  we  decided  to  go 
to  Dallas,  and  go  into  a  little  home  of  our  own  and  live  in  a  very 
modest  way,  and  there  our  first  little  girl,  Beulah,  was  bom  October 
31,  1869.  We  remained  in  Dallas  only  a  few  months,  going  from 
there  to  Alabama,  staying  in  Alabama  until  Mr.  Jones's  father 
expressed  a  desire  that  we  should  return  to  Cartersville,  as  he  needed 
his  son's  assistance  in  caring  for  him  in  his  sickness,  he  having  been 
an  invalid  for  many  months,  having  contracted  lung  trouble  during 
the  terrible  exposure  of  the  war. 

It  was  in  August,  1871,  that  God  in  His  wisdom  saw  fit  to  take 
unto  Himself  our  little  Beulah,  then  twenty-one  months  old,  and  it 
seemed  to  us  in  our  young  lives  that  the  sunshine  of  life  had  surely 
gone  out,  leaving  all  so  dark  and  desolate.  Never  will  I  forget  Mr. 
Jones's  grief.  He  loved  this  beautiful  little  girl  so  tenderly,  and  I 
have  never  seen  any  man  so  fond  of  little  babies  as  he.  Each  one 
that  came  into  our  home  brought  joy  and  gladness  to  his  heart  from 
the  first  to  the  last.  A  few  weeks  after  the  death  of  our  little 
girl,  Beulah,  our  second  daughter,  Mary,  now  Mrs.  Turner,  came 
into  our  life. 

At  this  time  we  lived  in  a  little  cabin  in  Cartersville,  which  is 
only  a  short  distance  from  our  present  home,  and  it  was  in  one  of 
the  last  sermons  that  he  preached  at  the  tabernacle  meeting  that 
Mr.  Jones  gave  a  few  pages  of  his  life,  dwelling  upon  the  fact  how 
Ood  would  bless  a  man  if  he  lived  right  and  walked  humbly  before 
Him,  and  spoke  of  the  fact  that  when  he  was  converted  and  started 
out  in  the  ministry  that  we  were  living  in  this  humble  home,  and 
how  through  the  years  of  his  faithfulness,  as  he  believed  he  had 
been  faithful  to  God,  how  God  had  blessed  him  not  only  in  a  spirit- 
ual, but  in  a  material  way.  How  God  had,  through  friends,  given 
us  this  beautiful  home  wherein  we  now  dwell,  and  how  we  had 
-dedicated  it  to  God,  and  had  tried  through  the  years  to  be  faithful 
to  our  vows. 


24  Sam  i\  Jones. 

Mr.  Jones  at  this  time  was  not  so  dissipated  as  he  had  been  for 
the  first  two  years  of  our  married  hfe,  but  he  had  abandoned  his 
law  practice  altogether,  and  it  was  by  his  daily  labor  that  we  were 
enabled  to  live.  He  worked  for  many  months,  firing  a  furnace, 
three  miles  from  Cartersville,  having  his  dinner  at  ii  a.  m., 
and  returning  home  at  i  a.  m.  Often  in  after-years  he  would 
say  to  me,  "Wife,  I  never  look  up  at  the  stars  at  night  that 
I  don't  think  of  the  months  I  fired  that  old  Bartow  furnace.  Ii 
seemed  to  me  that  I  counted  hundreds  of  times  each  star  in  the 
heavens  and  thought  of  the  Great  Be3^ond."  Did  any  whisper  of 
his  future  greatness  come  to  him?  Did  he  realize  the  undeveloped 
power  which  lay  dormant  in  him?  The  power  which  would  sway 
the  multitudes  as  nO'  other  man  had  swayed  them  since  our  Divine 
Christ  lived  aip.ong  men?  No  man  ever  mounted  the  pinnacle  of 
fame  more  rapidly,  and  yet  no  man  ever  seemed  so  unconscious  of 
his  greatness. 

Through  these  years  of  trial  and  poverty  we  found  that  our 
friends  were  not  so  numerous,  but  there  was  one  of  whom  he  always 
loved  to  speak,  who  was  ever  faithful,  and  that  was  an  old  colored 
woman,  Aunt  Ann  Mickens,  who  lived  near  by  (we  having  only 
one  or  two  near  neighbors).  She  v;as  a  woman  who  had  given  her 
heart  to  God  and  was  a  faithful  Christian.  She  and  her  husband 
lived  on  the  hill,  and  had  knovv-n  Mr.  Jones  all  the  years  of  his  life 
that  he  lived  in  Cartersville,  and  loved  him  devotedly.  She  would 
come  night  and  morning  during  my  sickness  and  minister  unto 
me  and  give  me  all  the  help  possible,  praying  constantly  for  us  that 
God  might  lead  us  out  intO'  better  and  more  useful  lives.  It  was 
our  privilege  in  after-years,  when  God  had  blessed  us,  to  minister 
in  turn  to  her  and  her  husband,  avIio  was  helpless  for  m.any  years. 
In  Mr.  Jones's  visits  home  she  was  among  the  number  that  he 
always  visited,  and  contributed  to  her  support,  trying  to  make  her 
latter  years  as  comfortable  as  possible.  It  was  during  one  of  his 
visits  home  that  he  went  to  see  her  before  leaving,  and  she  said  to 
him,  "God  bless  you,  Marse  Sammy.  AVhen  you  gits  back  from 
this  trip  I  will  be  gone,  but  I  will  be  sitting  right  inside  the  gates 
of  heaven  when  you  come,  waiting  to  welcome  you,  and  will  tell 
the  Lord  Jesus  how  good  you  was  to  an  old  nigger  down  here." 


Sam  p.  Jones.  25 

I  have  spoken  at  length  of  Mr.  Jones  as  I  knew  him  before  his 
conversion.  His  conversion,  his  call  to  the  ministry,  and  his  work 
as  a  pastor  in  the  North  Georgia  Conference  are  spoken  of  fully  in 
chapters  to  follow.  His  work  as  an  evangelist  is  alsO'  taken  up  and 
covered  completely. 

I  shall  now  speak  briefly  of  him  as  a  husband  and  father,  and  his 
social  life,  and  in  the  hours  of  sorrow  and  bereavement. 

Frequently  his  work  while  the  Agent  of  the  Orphans'  Home  took 
him  away  from  us,  and  perhaps  a,  letter  written  February  lo,  1881, 
will  show  his  great  solicitude  for  his  home,  wife  and  children  while 
necessarily  separated  from  them ;  also  his  faithfulness  to  God  and 
duty: 

"My  Dear  WiEE:  I  received  your  postal  yesterday.  I  do  wish 
you  would  quit  these  postals.  Are  you  out  of  envelopes,  paper  and 
stamps?  I  want  you  to  write  me  all  about  how  you  feel.  Maybe 
you  say  if  I  am  so  much  interested  in  how  you  feel,  I  would  go 
home  and  see.  Well,  Laura,  I  had  rather  be  v/ith  you  this  moment 
than  to  be  anywhere  in  the  known  world,  yet  I  am  here,  and  why  I 
came  here  and  why  I  am  still  here,  I  can  only  feel  is  by  the  direction 
of  the  Lord.  It  is  only  in  the  path  of  duty  that  I  can  walk  safely. 
\^ou  know,  dear  wife,  that  the  Lord  has  done  wonderful  things 
for  us,  whereof  we  ought  to  be  glad,  and  whatever  the  demands 
of  duty  are  let  us  comply  gladly  and  freely.  I  think  often 
of  you  all  at  home,  'Be  it  ever  so  humble  there's  no  place  like 
Tiome.'  After  preaching  here  last  night  some  of  the  brethren  came 
to  me  and  said,  'You  must  send  for  Sister  Jones.'  I  really  think  you 
would  enjoy  being  here  a  few  days.  You  never  met  a  kinder 
people,  and  it  would  be  so  nice  for  me  to^  have  you  come.  I  think 
Maiy  and  Annie,  for  papa's  sake,  would  stay  at  home  with  Miss 
Kate,  and  be  good  girls.  After  all  I  have  written,  wife,  I  want  you 
to  do  as  will  be  the  most  pleasure  and  comfort  to  you.  Let  me 
liear  from  you  by  return  mail.  Love  to  all. 
"Your  husband, 

"Sam  p.  Jones." 

While  on  the  Van  Wert  Circuit,   May   11,    1873,   Amiie,   our 


26  Sam  P.  Joni;S. 

daughter,  now  Mrs.  Rouhs  Pyroii,  was  born.  Our  oldest  son,  Sam 
Paul,  was  born  on  May  31,  1875.  Our  second  son,  Robert  W.  Jones^ 
was  born  on  Christmas  Eve,  1876,  while  on  the  Desoto  Circuit. 
Our  fourth  daughter,  Laura,  now  Mrs.  B.  C.  Sloan,  was  born  in 
October,  1881,  at  Social  Circle. 

With  our  five  living  children,  and  the  added  cares  and  responsi- 
bilities which  had  been  multiplied,  and  which  were  necessarily  heavy 
upon  me,  Mr.  Jones  felt  that  we  must  locate  permanently,  and  buy 
a  little  home  where  he  could  leave  us  in  comfort.  We  considered 
both  Marietta  and  Cartersville,  but  Mr.  Jones  was  specially  drawn 
to  the  home  of  his  boyhood,  where  so  many  of  his  people  live.  In 
our  Cartersville  home  our  youngest  daughter,  Julia  Baxter,  was 
born  in  April,  1885.  No  father  ever  loved  little  children  more  than 
he,  and  the  coming  of  our  last  child  brought  special  delight  to  his 
heart,  as  there  had  not  been  a  child  born  in  our  home  in  the  last 
four  and  a  half  years.  Our  grandchildren,  of  whom  five  are  living, 
Laura  and  Eva  Mays,  Samuel  Paul  Jones,  Robert  Porter  Jones,  and 
Sam  Jones  Sloan,  were  a  constant  source  of  love  and  pleasure  to 
him.  When  the  last  little  one  came  just  one  year  ago,  we  hesitated 
when  he  arrived  to  name  him  Sam  Jones,  as  the  other  boys  had  been 
given  his  name  in  part.  Mr.  Jones  was  away  from  home  at  the  time, 
and  when  he  returned  after  a  few  days  the  subject  was  mentioned, 
and  we  saw  that  he  was  delighted  with  the  idea  of  calling  this 
sturdy  little  fellow  Sam  Jones  Sloan,  and  he  was  particularly  de- 
voted to  this  boy  all  the  days  that  followed.  He  wrote  the  Atlanta 
Journal,  saying,  "With  the  advent  of  another  grandson  in  our 
home  comes  great  joy  and  rejoicing,  and  I  am  pleased  beyond 
measure  with  the  fact  that  he  is  named  plain,  flat-footed  Sam  Jones." 
Somehow  he  seemed  to  be  endeared  to  this  little  fellow  more  and 
more  as  the  days  went  by.  On  the  eve  of  our  leaving  home  for 
Oklahoma  City  he  took  the  dear  little  boy  in  his  arms  and  said  to 
me,  "I  would  love  to  live  to  see  the  day  when  this  dear  child  will 
be  grown,  and  will  take  up  the  work  that  I  am  doing." 

The  people  of  Nashville,  where  he  had  held  a  great  meeting, 
generously  ofl:"ered  to  give  him  a  beautiful  home,  but  after  consider- 
ing and  praying  over  it,  he  decided  to  remain  at  Carters^"ille.     Then 


Sam  p.  Jonks.  27 

the  citizens  of  Nashville  made  a  g-enerous  donation  for  the  purpose 
of  improving  our  Cartersville  home,  and  through  their  generous 
giit  our  home  was  completed.  Mr.  Jones  was  so  grateful  to  God 
and  friends  for  the  home  that  he  decided  to  dedicate  it  to  the  Lord, 
and  on  Christmas  Day,  in  1885,  the  house  was  formally  dedicated 
at  2 130  p.m.,  Dr.  T.  R.  Kendall,  of  Louisville,  Ky.,  conducting 
the  service.  After  an  appropriate  hymn  and  prayer  by  Dr.  Kendall, 
Mr.  Jones  arose  and,  in  a  most  touching  and  earnest  manner,  pre- 
sented the  home  to  Dr.  Kendall,  as  a  minister  of  God  for  dedication 
to  His  service.  The  official  minister  then  read  several  appropriate 
passages  of  Scripture,  and  after  commending  the  action,  express- 
ing the  hope  that  many  others  must  follow  the  example,  he 
accepted  the  home  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  He  then  called  upon 
Rev.  W.  A.  Dodge,  who  offered  a  fervent  prayer  for  God's  bless- 
ings upon  the  home  and  family. 

Four  generations  of  Mr.  Jones's  family  were  present,  including 
his  venerable  grandfather,  uncles,  brothers,  sisters,  mother  and  my  . 
mother. 

His  beautiful  thoughts  concerning  home  and  home-life,  and  the 
blessings  of  God  in  the  home,  were  so  sacred  and  sublime  that 
every  one  present  saw  him  in  an  entirely  different  light  to  what  the 
world  had  known  him.  Some  one  who  was  present,  in  writing  of 
the  rearrangement  of  the  home,  said,  "I  was  struck  with  something 
about  Sam  Jones's  home  which  is  typical  of  his  life.  When  he  built 
his  present  home  he  had  the  old  home,  which  was  a  one-story  frame 
building,  raised  and  a  new  portion  built  under  it.  The  old  home- 
stead is  there,  but  it  is  elevated  and  made  beautiful  by  the  new  part, 
which  is  a  handsome  foundation.  So  it  is  with  the  life  of  the 
owner.  The  old  Sam  Jones  has  been  lifted  up,  with  a  new  man 
and  a  firm  foundation,  the  maker  and  builder  of  which  is  God. 
While  the  entire  new  structure  is  beautiful  to  behold,  yet  the  old 
Sam  Jones  is  still  there,  with  the  humor  and  the  boyishness  and 
the  love  for  all  mankind." 

In  his  social  life,  Mr.  Jones  was  always  a  marvel,  and  a  source 
of  untold  delight  to  the  friends  that  gathered  in  our  home.  We 
celebrated   several   occasions   of   note;   among   the  first,   was   our 


28  Sam  P.  Jonks. 

twenty-fifth  anniversary,  thirteen  years  ago,  the  twenty-fourth  day 
of  November.  This  was  a  notable  occasion  in  our  Hves,  and  we  had 
begun  to  look  forward  to  the  fiftieth  milepost,  hoping  to  God,  if 
it  was  His  will,  to  let  us  journey  together  these  few  more  years. 
He  so  often  spoke  of  what  a  God-given  privilege  it  was  for  a  man 
and  his  wife  to  journey  together  for  fifty  years,  and  at  the  end  of 
that  time  celebrate  their  golden  wedding.  It  was  on  the  occasion 
of  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  our  friend  and  neighbor,  "Bill  Arp" 
that  he  said,  "How  glad  I  would  be  if  God  would  let  me  live  to 
celebrate  with  you,  my  beloved  wife,  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of 
our  marriage.'' 

Another,  and  the  greatest  occasion  of  the  gathering  together  of 
our  friends,  was  on  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Jone's  fiftieth  birthday, 
just  nine  years  before  he  celebrated  his  fifty-ninth  birthday  in  the 
glorious  City  where  many  of  those  who  were  with  him  on  the 
occasion  of  this  celebration  had  gone  on  before,  and  I  imagine 
it  was  a  reunion  of  great  gladness  and  joy.  Mr.  Jones's  happiness 
on  the  dawn  of  his  birthday  knew  no  bounds.  He  was  like  a 
schoolboy  come  home  to  spend  a  holiday.  The  day  dawned  clear 
and  beautiful.  Forty-nine  of  his  friends  gathered  with  him  and 
we  were  happy  indeed.  W^e  give  in  his  own  words  a  few  thoughts 
on  this  occasion.     (Copied  on  separate  page.) 

We  also  had  a  Christmas  dinner  for  the  boys  of  Cartersville, 
that  he  might  bring  them  in  closer  touch  with  himself,  and  also 
a  dinner  for  railroad  men  from  many  places.  He  loved  these  men 
tenderly  and  wanted  to  help  them,  because  of  their  great  kindness 
to  him.  And  although  Mr.  Jones  was  a  very  busy  man,  having 
only  a  few  weeks  in  the  year  oftentimes  to  spend  with  his  home 
people,  he  enjoyed  beyond  measure  these  memorable  occasions.  He 
loved  his  home  and  his  home  people  and  his  association  with  them. 

While  the  past  seems  dim  before  my  tear-filled  eyes,  and  present 
great  sorrow,  it  is  still  sweet  to  remember  the  gladsome  look  on 
his  face  and  to  feel  that  he  appreciated  the  efforts  made  in  his. 
home  to  add  this  pleasure  in  various  anniversaries. 

But  it  was  in  the  time  of  sickness  and  bereavement  that  his  real 
heart  was  seen.     I  was  taken  violently  ill  on  the  twelfth  day  of" 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  29 

November,  1887,  in  Rochester,  New  York,  as  I  was  traveling  with 
Mr.  Jones  on  one  of  his  extended  lecture-trips,  and  I  remained 
in  New  York  five  weeks.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time  the  doctcjr 
who  was  in  attendance  upon  me  told  Mr.  Jones  that  I  would  die, 
and  as  my  anxiety  was  so  great  to  see  my  children  he  advised  him, 
if  possible,  to  bring  me  home.  The  friend  with  whom  we  were 
staying  was  the  President  of  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  River  Rail- 
road, and  he  offered  Mr.  Jones  his  private  car  for  the  journey. 
His  wife,  the  physician  and  four  other  friends  attended  me.  When 
we  arrived  in  Atlanta,  having  telegraphed  ahead  for  Dr.  Bizell  to 
m,eet  us,  he  accompanied  us  home.  Immediately  upon  our  arrival 
here  he  performed  an  operation  which  was  of  a  very  serious  nature, 
and  my  life  hung  in  the  balance  for  many  weeks.  The  physicians 
held  out  little  hope  for  my  recovery.  Mr.  Jones  was  well-nigh 
prostrated,  and  his  tender  solicitude,  as  he  watched  by  my  bedside, 
touched  deeply  the  hearts  of  those  who  were  near  him.  It  was 
the  most  sorrowful  experience,  as  he  often  expressed  it,  in  his  whole 
life,  for  no  man,  I  think  I  may  truly  say,  ever  loved  more  beauti- 
fully, more  tenderly  or  sweetly  than  he  did.  He  not  only  loved 
me  with  all  the  affection  of  his  nature  but  he  depended  on  me.  Out- 
»ide  of  his  love  for  God,  I  think  his  love  for  me  was  the  greatest 
tiling  in  the  v/orld.  While  my  life  was  swinging  uncertainly  in 
the  balance  he  divided  his  time  between  watching  by  my  bedside, 
and  praying  to  God  to  spare  my  life. 

His  suspense  and  sorrow  was  terrible.  Calling  his  children 
together  one  day,  he  told  them  that  he  had  given  up  hope,  and  they 
must  be  prepared  for  the  greatest  sorrow  of  their  lives,  although 
he  was  still  praying  to  God  to  save  me,  and  he  said,  "I  have  prom- 
ised God  that  if  He  will  give  her  back  to  us,  I  will  never  while  I 
live  give  her  a  moment's  pain  or  speak  a  cross  or  impatient  word 
to  her."  Soon  after  this  an  improvement  was  noted  in  my  condition, 
as  though  God  had  accepted  the  promise  of  my  beloved  husband,  and 
I  believe  He  did.  While  Mr.  Jones  was  always  tender  and  thought- 
ful before,  it  was  literally  true  from  that  day  to  the  last  day 
of  his  life  he  kept  his  promise  to  God.  He  was  never  heard  to 
utter  an  impatient  word  to  his  wife  and  his  faithfulness  to  God 
has  been  known  to  the  people  throughout  the  land. 


30  Sam  P.  Jones. 

There  was  another  period  in  his  hfe  when  his  faith  in  God 
was  tested.  That  was  when  our  daughter  Mary  was  so  ill  for 
many  weeks  at  the  birth  of  her  oldest  daughter,  and  he  saw  that 
all  human  help  was  powerless.  He  went  to  God  in  prayer  and 
called  upon  some  of  his  friends  whom  he  knew  lived  close  to  the 
throne  to  pray  with  him.  Among  them  were  Brother  L.  P.  Brown, 
of  Meridian,  Miss.,  who  gives  a  very  beautiful  experience  in  his  own 
life,  when  he  took  this  girl  to  God  in  prayer,  and  how  he  had  the 
assurance  from  God  Himself  that  her  life  would  be  spared. 
Although  many  people  came  to  Mr.  Brown  and  told  him  they  had 
seen  in  the  papers  that  Mary  was  dead,  he  said  he  knew  it  was  not 
true,  for  God  had  assured  him  that  she  would  live;  and  it  was  in 
answer  to  these  prayers  that  she  lives  to-day. 

In  January,  1888,  after  the  trying  period  of  my  serious  illness, 
Mr.  Jones  went  to  Kansas  City  to  hold  a  meeting,  which  had  been 
postponed  for  several  weeks  on  account  of  my  sickness.  Having 
been  there  a  short  while,  he  became  so  homesick  to  see  me  that  he, 
leaving  the  meeting  in  the  hands  of  some  one  else,  came  over  a 
thousand  miles  to  spend  one  day  with  me.  Although  it  was  his 
custom  to  write  me  daily,  and  keep  it  up  till  the  end,  at  times  he 
was  so  homesick  he  would  cancel  his  engagements  to  come  tO'  us. 

I  knew  him  as  a  sweetheart,  a  husband,  a  father,  a  Christian. 
He  was  loving,  kind,  generous  to  a  fault,  and  above  all  things,  I 
knew  him  in  his  faithfulness  to  God. 

In  the  last  tabernacle  meeting  after  a  hard  summer's  work  with 
great  trials,  tribulations,  and  temptations,  he  said  to  the  people : 
"It  seems  that  this  has  been  the  hardest  year  of  my  life.  At  times 
it  seems  that  my  grip  on  God  was  loosened,  and  then  I  went  to 
him  in  my  great  distress  and  poured  out  my  soul  in  earnest  prayer, 
and  God  came  into  my  room  and  lifted  the  burden  from  my  heart, 
and  gave  me  assurance  of  victory,  and  I  could  hear  him  say  almost 
in  audible  tones  as  if  the  voice  was  clear  from  heaven : 

'When  through  the  deep  waters  I  call  thee  to  go, 
The  rivers  of  woe  shall  not  thee  overflow, 
For  I  will  be  with  thee,  thy  troubles  to  bless. 
And  sanctify  to  thee  thy  deepest  distress.'  " 


Sam  p.  Jones.  31 

So  he  went  through  life,  bearing  the  burdens,  yet  filHng  Hfe 
full  of  kind  deeds,  and  always  giving  pleasure  and  happiness  to 
others,  until  the  time  had  come,  many  years  ago,  when  everything 
was  dated  from  and  to,  "when  'daddy'  comes  home."  We  always 
saved  the  best  of  everything  for  him,  and  when  the  time  came  for 
him  to  come  home  we  all  met  him^  at  the  depot,  the  children 
scrambling  for  the  first  kiss.  When  the  train  pulled  into  our  station 
he  would  always  be  standing  on  the  lowest  step  of  the  car,  waiting 
to  step  off  to  receive  our  welcome.  I  can  see  him  now,  in  memory, 
as  his  face  would  light  up  with  that  wonderful  smile,  so  dear  to 
me,  when  he  would  catch  the  first  sight  of  his  wife,  children  and 
grandchildren,  waiting  to  welcome  him  home.  Oh,  those  home- 
comings !  they  were  so  dear  to  me,  and  although  we  will  be  denied 
the  earthly  pleasure  of  his  homecomings,  thank  God,  he  waits  at 
the  terminal  station  of  Life's  great  railway  there  to  welcome  each 
of  his  loved  ones  with  joy  that  no  homecoming  could  have  given 
him  on  this  earth. 

The  last  weeks  that  I  knew  him  were  in  our  Cartcrsville  meeting 
and  his  final  work  in  Oklahoma  City.  After  the  strain  and  burdens 
of  the  tabernacle  meeting,  I  was  quite  unwell,  and  felt  that  a  few 
days,  or  a  week's  rest  at  home  would  benefit  me  greatly,  and  thought 
I  would  remain  at  home,  and  not  accompany  him  to  Oklahoma 
City,  as  two  of  the  children  were  not  well  at  the  time.  But  Mr. 
Jones  seemed  unusually  determined  to  have  me  accompany  him. 
I  hesitated  at  first,  but  finally  made  up  my  mind  tO'  go,  and  the 
journey  proved  more  pleasant  than  I  anticipated.  I  improved  so 
much  while  in  Oklahoma  City  and  our  companionship  was  so 
delightful.  We  were  together  more,  without  the  presence  of  others, 
than  we  had  been  in  the  given  time  for  years.  Did  God,  in  His 
merciful  tenderness  give  me  those  two  happ)^  weeks,  to  try  to 
soften  the  terrible  blow  He  knew  was  coming? 

The  afternoon  we  left  Oklahoma  City,  October  14th,  it  was 
raining  and  so  dreary,  but  Mr.  Jones  seemed  cheerful  and  happy 
and  I  never  dreamed  he  would  leave  me  so  soon.  But  I  do  thank 
God  that  He  made  it  possible  for  me  to  be  with  him  to  the  very 
last,  and  I  know  that  His  goodness  and  mercy  followed  him  to 


32  Sam  P.  Jonks. 

the  very  last  days  of  his  hfe,  and  he  now  dwells  and  will  forever 
dwell  in  the  house  of  the  Lord.  And  although  I  can  not  express 
in  words  what  he  was  to  me  or  how  I  loved  him,  I  want  the  world 
to  know,  as  many  thousands  already  know,  tliat  altl-ough  he  was  the 
greatest  man  of  the  nineteenth  century  in  public  life — pure,  true, 
honorable  and  kind  to  all  his  fellow  men — his  greatness  was  in 
greater  evidence  in  the  place  he  loved  above  all  else — his  home. 

This  departure  is  an  inexplicable  Providence  as  I  see  it  now. 
But  for  my  faith  in  God,  and  my  knowledge  of  his  strong  and 
3.biding  faith  in  God  and  my  profound  belief  in  the  excellency  of 
his  character  and  the  purity  of  his  motives,  all  mingled  with  the 
hope  of  a  glad  meeting  in  the  sweet  by  and  by,  hov/  could  I  bear  this 
great  loss  or  be  able  to  say,  "Lord,  Thy  will  be  done." 


CHAPTER  II. 


His  Anci:stry. 

In  tracing  Mr.  Jones's  ancestry,  v/e  begin  as  far  back  as  August 
1 6,  1805.  To  Rev.  and  Mrs.  John  Jones,  of  Abbeville  District, 
South  Carolina,  was  born  a  son,  whom  they  named  Samuel  G. 
Jones.  Both  parents  died  when  the  boy  was  four  years  old.  He 
Vv'as  then  taken  into  the  home  of  an  uncle,  where  he  remained  until 
he  was  seventeen.  Leaving  South  Carolina,  he  came  to  Elbert 
count}^,  Georgia,  where  he  vras  apprenticed  to  a  tanner  for  a  term 
of  tv/o  or  three  years.  At  the  expiration  of  this  time  he  married 
Miss  Elizabeth  Ann  Edwards,  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Robert  L. 
Edv/ards,  who  was  for  a  number  of  years  a  member  of  the  SouLli 
Carolina  Conference,  and  later  of  the  Georgia  Conference. 

He  Vv'as  married  in  his  twenty-first  year,  and  his  vvife  was  in  her 
sixteenth  year.  They  lived  together  happily  fifty-one  years.  They 
reared  eleven  children ;  nine  sons  and  two  daughters. 

Remaining  in  Elbert  county  for  a  few  years  after  his  miarriage, 
Mr.  Jones  then  remiOved  to  Heard  county,  Georgia,  and  from  there 
to  Chambers  county,  Alabama,  and  later  in  life  he  returned  to  Geor- 
gia and  settled  at  Cartersville,  wdiere  he  died  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety  years.  He  was  converted  and  joined  the  Methodist  church 
at  the  age  of  sixteen  and  was  licensed  to  preach  at  thirty-three. 
For  many  years  he  had  served  the  church  as  class-leader,  Sunday- 
school  superintendent,  steward  and  exhorter.  A.fter  he  was  licensed 
to  preach,  he  was  ordained  deacon  in  1843  by  Bishop  Soule,  and 
elder  in  1848  by  Bishop  Capers. 

From  the  time  he  was  licensed  to  preach  until  his  death,  he  was 
an  honored  and  an  acceptable  local  preacher  in  the  Methodist  church. 
In  twenty-eight  years  he  only  missed  three  appointments,  often 
walking  nine  miles  to  preach  after  a  hard  week's  work. 

(33) 


34  ^       Sam  P.  Joni;S. 

He  was  a  rather  peculiar  combination  of  manly  and  noble  char- 
acteristics. He  stood  strongly  for  his  convictions.  His  common 
sense  was  unusual.  He  was  an  old-time  preacher.  His  preaching 
was  notable  for  its  directness,  clearness  and  simplicity.  He  was  of 
Scotch-Irish  descent,  and  had  much  quaint  humor. 

To  be  with  grandfather  Jones  and  hear  him  talk  was  to  feel  a 
holy  inspiration,  and  to  be  impelled  towards  a  better  Christian  life. 
His  conversation  was  on  high  and  holy  things,  showing  a  remark- 
able memory  and  a  clear  conception  of  the  teachings  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  of  which  his  life  had  been  a  shining  illustration.  In 
Mr.  Jones  we  find  some  of  the  characteristics  of  his  grandfather. 
Much  of  the  wit  and  humor  in  the  grandfather,  also  the  directness, 
clearness  and  simplicity,  were  reproduced  in  the  grandson.  Here  we 
have  some  of  the  strongest  elements  of  Mr.  Jones's  success.  Mr. 
Jones  visited  his  grandfather  on  his  fiftieth  anniversary,  and  speaks 
of  him  in  the  following  way : 

"Six  years  ago,  I  got  a  letter  from  my  old  grandfather  Jones, 
who  lived  across  two  counties  from  us,  and  he  wanted  me  to  come 
and  visit  him.  The  letter  said :  'You  and  your  wife  and  children 
must  come  to  see  us;  your  grandmother  and  I  have  lived  happily 
together  for  fifty  years,  and  now  we  are  going  to  celebrate  our 
golden  wedding.' 

"I  didn't  intend  going,  but  I  thought  over  it  and  concluded  to  go, 
and  we  went.  After  we  had  finished  dinner,  grandfather  formed 
all  of  us  around  him  in  a  circle  and  told  us  this  story :  Away  back 
when  he  was  sixteen  years  old,  in  the  southern  part  of  Georgia, 
he  was  bound  out  until  he  was  twenty-one ;  while  he  was  trudging 
away  at  his  work,  the  little  village  was  stirred  up  one  day  by  some 
Methodists  coming  through  holding  a  revival  meeting,  and  he,  like 
every  one  else,  went  to  hear  the  preaching,  but  not  like  every  one 
else,  he  was  converted  to  God,  and  was  baptized ;  a  few  years  after- 
ward he  was  ordained  and  has  preached  the  gospel  ever  since. 
'There  are  fifty-two  members  in  our  family,  of  these  twenty-tAvo 
have  crossed  over  on  the  other  side,  sixteen  were  infants ;  and,  with 
God  as  my  surety,  I  know  they  are  in  heaven,  the  other  six  died 
happy  (and  one  of  these  was  my  father). 


Sam  p.  Jone;s.  35 

"  'There  are  thirty  left,  and  all  but  one  are  in  the  church  and  on 
the  straight  and  narrow  path  that  leads  to  heaven;  but  that  one, 
oh,  I  have  wept  over  that  brother;  I  have  shed  tears  of  bitter 
anguish ;  I  have  prayed  for  him  and  with  him,  and  at  last  he  surren- 
dered to  the  power  greater  than  he,  and  is  to-day  a  powerful  min- 
ister of  the  gospel.  Then  the  old  man  said,  with  tears  in  his  eyes. 
that  he  didn't  care  whether  he  stayed  down  here  with  his  thirty 
children  and  grandchildren,  or  went  up  yonder  with  the  twenty-two 
to  wait  for  us  all." 

Grandfather  Jones  was  also  in  the  habit  of  having  a  birthday 
celebration,  which  came  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  August.  He  would 
have  his  children,  grandchildren,  great-grandchildren  and  friends 
present.  These  were  occasions  of  great  grace,  more  like  a  revival 
meeting  than  a  mere  social  gathering.  The  day  was  filled  with 
songs,  prayer,  sermons  and  exhortations,  and  an  exchange  of  Chris- 
tian experiences. 

The  deep  religious  experience  of  grandfather,  and  his  earnest 
solicitude  for  the  salvation  of  his  children  and  gi-andchildren  was 
lived  over  in  Mr.  Jones.  No  man  ever  loved  his  home  better  and 
had  keener  interest  for  the  welfare  of  his  children. 

At  the  different  anniversaries  in  our  home  and  the  great  annual 
tabernacle  meetings,  our  home  was  more  like  a.  prayer-meeting  or 
revival  than  anything  else.  Some  of  the  rarest  and  richest  religious 
experiences  of  life  have  transpired  in  our  home  during  these  gath- 
•erings. 

As  we  have  seen,  Mr.  Jones's  grandmother,  on  his  father's  side, 
was  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Robert  L.  Edwards.  Mr.  Edwards  was 
one  of  the  pioneer  preachers  of  Georgia.  He  was  a  giant  in  his 
day.  He  preached  with  unusual  unction  and  was  rather  unique  in 
his  ministry.  While  the  gift  of  wit  and  humor  was  not  so  pro- 
nounced, he  was,  nevertheless,  witty  and  humorous  when  he  wished 
to  be.  He  had  a  burning  zeal  for  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  was 
quick  to  see  an  opportunity  for  preaching  the  Word  of  God.  He 
was  admitted  on  trial  by  the  South  Carolina  Conference,  at  Sparta, 
Georgia,  in  December,  1806.  After  serving  as  an  itinerant  preacher 
for  five  years,  he  located  in  December,  181 1.     He  was  readmitted 


36  Sam  P.  Jones. 

into  the  South  CaroHna  Conference,  at  Milledg-eville,  Georgia,  in 
December,  1814,  and  remained  in  connection  with  that  and  the 
Georgia  Conference  until  his  death  in  1849. 

The  Conference  Minutes  say  of  him :  "As  a  preacher  of  the 
gospel  he  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  that  ever  labored 
in  the  Southern  States.  His  preaching  abilities  were  good;  espe- 
cially did  he  excel  in  the  talent  for  extemporaneous  preaching. 
Uixjn  the  spur  of  the  moment  he  could  deliver  a  discourse,  marked 
not  only  with  good  sense  and  fervency  but  with  system  of  thought 
and  power  upon  the  hearers.  He  was  dintinguished  for  his  skill 
in  planning  and  conducting  meetings  in  which  the  conversion  of 
souls  was  the  special  object.  Nor  was  he  ever  satisfied  with  efforts 
which  did  not  result  in  this  end.  At  camp-meetings  he  would  often 
preach  from  tent  to  tent  with  powerful  and  blessed  effects." 

Rev.  James  D.  Anthony,  who  heard  him  preach  several  times 
during  the  year  1847,  describes  a  service  held  at  the  old  Warsaw 
Campground,  in  the  autumn  of  that  year,  in  the  following  words : 

"All  the  preachers  had  left  the  tent  and  were  on  their  way  to 
the  arbor.  Father  Edwards,  who  always  believed  in  being  on  hand 
in  due  time,  was  leading  the  procession.  He  halted,  and  turned, 
facing  us,  saying:  'Stop,  brethren,  stop!  Tell  me  who  is  to  preach 
to-night.'  'Brother  David  Williamson,'  some  one  replied.  Then, 
facing  Brother  Williamson,  he  said :  'Brother  Williamson,  what  are 
you  going  to  preach  about?'  Williamson  replied,  'I  thought  I  would 
take  a  text  in  Isaiah  48:18:  'Then  had  thy  peace  been  as  a  river, 
and  thy  righteousness  as  the  waves  of  the  sea.'  'Pooh,  pooh,'  ex- 
claimed Brother  Edwards,  'That  won't  do  at  all.  Give  'em  salvation, 
brother,  give  'em  salvation.     I  tell  you,  you  must  give  salvation.' 

"Brother  Williamson  was  not  a  man  who  could  shoot  without 
taking  a  rest,  so  he  preached  on  'Peace  as  a  River.'  It  was  a  very 
pretty,  smooth  sennon  of  about  thirty  minutes.  When  he  had 
finished,  old  Brother  Dunnagan,  an  exhorter,  arose  to  conclude  the 
sen- ices.  He  eulogized  the  sermon  in  beautiful  language,  and  began 
to  talk  about  the  'assize'  in  England,  and  the  vast  numbers  that 
attended  on  such  occasions. 

"Brother  Edwards  v\'as  seated  in  the  altar.     He  rose  up,  groaned 


Sam  p.  Jones.  37' 

in  spirit,  struck  a  bee-line  for  the  pulpit,  and  placed  his  right  hand 
«n  the  exhorter's  breast,  at  the  same  time  saying :  'Brother,  I  don't 
care  anything  about  the  'assize  of  England.'  These  people  are 
sinners,  sir,  big  sinners,  on  their  way  to  death.  And  if  you  won't 
tell  them  where  they  are  going,  sit  down  and  let  me  tell  them.' 

"  'I  was  going  on,'  explained  the  exhorter,  'to  tell  them  about, 
the  great  assize  of  the  general  judgment  day;  but,  my  brother,  I 
will  give  place  to  you.  I  know  you  can  do  better  than  I  can ;  and 
he  took  his  seat.  I\Ir.  Edwards  made  an  earnest  exhortation,  and 
when  he  invited  the  unsaved  to  the  altar,  they  came  in  crowd.=,. 
This  moved  the  church,  and  the  meeting  lasted  all  night.  Cries,, 
mingled  with  shouts  of  converts,  and  the  happy  hallelujahs  of 
Christians  continued  to  be  heard  until  the  sun,  full-orbed,  rode  up 
into  the  heavens." 

At  another  time  he  ran  across  a  crowd  waiting  for  a  horse-race 
to  come  off.  He  parsed  a  few  words  with  them,  and  finally  decided 
to  preach,  provided  they  would  listen.  Seeing  that  he  had  nearly 
an  hour  before  the  races,  he  took  his  stand  on  the  porch  of  a  little- 
store,  sang  a  hymn,  knelt  down  and  prayed,  and  preached  a  powerful 
sermon.  They  asked  him  to  stay  with  them  and  preach  that  night. 
The  people  were  so  impressed  with  his  preaching  that  they  urged 
him  to  remain  several  days.  The  result  was  a  wonderful  revival 
and  a  church  organized.  Thus  he  went  from  place  to  place 
preaching. 

He  possessed  great  physical  courage.  It  is  told  of  him  that  after 
preaching  a  very  pointed  and  direct  sermon  a  rowdy  fellow  waited 
for  him  to  vdiip  him  and  kill  him  if  he  did  not  retract  some  of  his 
utterances.  Mr.  Edwards  was  riding  home  when  this  fellow  met 
him  in  the  road.  He  spoke  to  him,  demanding  that  he  take  back 
the  things  to  which  he  objected.  This  the  preacher  refused  to  do, 
whereupon  he  struck  Mr.  Edwards,  and  the  preacher  returned  the 
blow,  but  he  finally  got  the  sinner  on  his  knees  and  prayed  him 
into  the  deepest  conviction.  The  man  went  home  and  retired,  but 
his  agony  of  conviction  was  so  intense  that  his  family,  becoming 
alaiTned,  sent  for  his  pastor;  he  came  and  prayed  with  him  and 
led  him  to  the  Saviour. 


-38  Sam    P.  Jonks. 

These  incidents  may  help  to  account  for  some  of  the  quahties 
in  Mr.  Jones.  He  was  possessed  with  such  a  consuming  desire 
for  the  salvation  of  the  lost,  and  was  always  ready  anywhere  to 
preach  to  sinners,  and  was  possessed  with  such  dauntless  courage. 
He  used  to  say,  "Fighting  is  the  first  instinct  of  a  bulldog,  and 
the  last  resort  of  a  gentleman;  yet  you  can  not  have  moral  courage 
without  physical  courage  as  a  basis." 

Those  who  knew  Mr.  Edwards  very  well  and  who  heard  Mr. 
Jones  preach,  used  to  say :  "There  is  a  streak  of  his  great-grand- 
father running  through  Mr.  Jones,  breaking  out  here  and  there." 

His  father,  Capt.  John  J.  Jones,  was  a  man  of  many  parts.  He 
was  a  lawyer  by  profession  but  a  business  man  in  eveiy  sense  of  the 
word.  In  his  law  practice  and  business  transactions,  he  made  money 
but  spent  it  freely.  He  did  an  immense  business,  and  was  always 
in  a  good  financial  condition. 

Early  in  his  life  he  was  sheriff  of  the  county  in  which  he  lived, 
and  took  a  lively  interest  in  politics,  but  never 'held  any  other  office. 
He  believed  in  office-holding  for  his  friends. 

His  Christian  life  began  very  early,  as  he  joined  the  church  when 
young,  but  it  was  not  until  his  latter  years  that  he  became  such  a 
■devoted  Christian.  He  always  felt  that  he  was  called  to  the  min- 
istry, but  unlike  his  son,  conferred  with  "flesh  and  blood."  He 
didn't  feel  that  the  ministry  offered  sufficient  financial  inducement 
for  his  support,  and  put  off  preaching  until  he  could  make  enough 
money  to  feel  sure  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  Thus  he  turned  to  the 
legal  profession,  and  became  a  lawyer  of  note,  distinguishing  him- 
self for  his  intelligence,  integrity,  justice,  social  qualities,  and  piety. 
As  a  speaker  he  was"  wonderfully  gifted,  exercising  great  power 
over  a  jury.  At  one  moment  he  would  have  an  audience  angry 
because  of  his  invectives  and  sarcasm ;  and,  the  next  moment  roar- 
ing with  laughter. 

He  was  the  soul  of  honor.  In  all  of  his  trades  and  transactions 
he  never  took  the  advantage  of  any  one. 

Some  of  these  strongest  elements  in  Captain  Jones  were  in  his 
son.  For  instance,  his  honesty,  his  ability  to  make  money,  his  great 
generosity,  his  power  over  an  audience,  and  the  earnestness  of  his 
Christian  life. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  39 

His  mother  was  a  kind,  painstaking,  sweet-spirited  woman.  She 
possessed  rare  gifts  and  graces.  She  was  intelhgent  and  refined. 
Her  sweet,  noble  nature  was  of  the  finest  type.  Her  Christian  hfe 
was  exemplary.  When  Mr.  Jones  was  nine  years  old,  she  passed 
away.  He  remembered  her,  and  always  referred  to  her  as  "My 
Precious  Mother."  He  never  forgot  the  hour  when  his  father  took 
him  and  the  other  children  into  the  parlor,  and  as  a  little  boy,  he 
walked  up  to  her  casket  and  kissed  her  sweet  lips  cold  in  death, 
though  at  that  time  he  was  too  young  to  realize  the  enormity  of 
his  loss.     She  sleeps  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Oak  Bowery,  Alabama. 

Ten  years  ago,  Mr.  Jones  went  to  his  mother's  grave  and  to  the 
old  home  of  his  childhood,  and  preached  to  the  people  who  knev/ 
him  in  his  boyhood  days.  In  speaking  of  that  visit,  he  wrote  the 
following  to  the  Atlanta  Journal: 

"One  incident  on  my  trip  brought  up  memories  that  are  sacred 
to  me.  I  drove  from  Opelika,  Ala.,  out  eight  miles  to  the  little  old 
village  of  Oak  Bowery,  Ala.,  where  I  was  born.  I  had  not  looked 
upon  the  little  village  in  forty-one  years.  Only  a  few  houses  remain, 
and  while  I  was  only  nine  years  old  when  I  last  saw  the  village, 
yet  I  could  identify  and  call  the  names  of  the  people  who  lived  in 
those  houses.  The  house  where  I  was  bom  has  either  been  destroyed 
by  fire  or  moved  away,  but  I  knew  the  acre  of  ground  on  which  I 
was  bom.  I  drove  over  to  the  old  cemetery,  just  out  of  town,^ 
where  my  sainted  mother  has  been  sleeping  in  the  dust  for  forty- 
three  years,  and  as  I  looked  upon  her  tombstone  and  grave  the 
memories  they  awakened  I  shall  never  forget.  Memory  carried  me 
back  to  childhood's  hours.  I  thought  of  my  mother  as  she  was  to 
me,  a  little  boy,  kind,  loving,  beautiful  mother!  Lying  near  by  her 
was  my  sister,  who  died  when  but  five  years  old.  Then  I  thought 
of  my  father,  who  sleeps  in  the  old  cemetery  at  Cartersville.  Then 
I  wondered  how  long  it  would  be  before  I  should  take  my  place 
by  their  side.  I  was  so  glad  as  I  looked  upon  the  grave  of  my 
mother,  and  felt  that  were  I  to  take  the  casket  from  the  ground  and 
remove  its  rusty  lid,  that  perhaps,  while  I  could  take  the  bones  of 
my  mother  up  in  my  hand,  yet  my  Bible  whispered  to  me  in  that 
silent  hour,  saying,  'This  corruption  shall  put  on  incorruption. 
This  mortality  shall  be  swallowed  up  by  immortality.' 


40  Sam  p.  Jones. 

"I  may  not  again  look  upon  the  tomb  of  my  mother.  Mother's 
ibody  is  all  that  lies  beneath  the  tomb.  She  lives  and  reigns  above, 
Avith  the  light  and  life  dancing  in  her  eyes  and  the  glow  of  immortal 
life  upon  her  cheeks.  A  mother — a  good  mother — is  immortal  in 
the  memory  of  her  children." 

Mr.  Jones  descended  from  good  and  religious  ancestry.  There 
was  noble  blood  on  both  sides  of  the  family.  There  were  no  better 
born  or  better  bred  people  than  his.  He  came  from  a  lineage  of 
ministers.  His  great-grandfather  on  his  mother's  side  and  his 
grandfather  on  his  father's  side  were  Methodist  ministers.  He  had 
four  uncles  who  were  licensed  preachers :  Rev.  Robert  Jones,  Rev. 
William  Jones,  Rev.  Parks  Jones  and  Dr.  J.  H.  Jones.  Not  only  did 
he  come  from  a  preaching  ancestry,  but  from  Methodist  lineage. 
He  frequently  said :  "I  am  a  Methodist  just  like  I  am  a  Jones,  and, 
if  it  is  a  sin  to  be  either,  it  is  a  sin  that  is  visited  upon  the  children 
from  their  parents."  And  also,  he  said:  "Don't  find  fault  with  me 
for  being  a  ]^dethodist,  for  my  family  have  been  Methodists,  cleax* 
back  to  Adam,  for  Adam  was  a  Methodist — for  didn't  he  fall?'' 
He  was  proud  of  his-  ancestry  and  often  said :  "There  is  only  one 
thing  which  either  man  or  devil  has  ever  said  of  me  that  hurt  me, 
and  that  has  stabbed  me  to  the  heart.  AVhen  some  little  editor  or 
man  wanted  to  be  more  than  usually  vicious,  he  said :  'Sam  Jones 
is  ill-bred  >;=**'  'ii  [^  ^  \\q^  jt  is  a  lie!'  God  never  made 
a  sv^^eeter,  purer  woman  than  my  sainted  mother,  nor  a  grander, 
nobler.  Christian  character  than  that  of  my  father.  No,  I  am  not 
ill-bred.  As  pure  blood  flows  through  my  veins  as  through  any 
living  man." 

One  of  the  most  cultured  and  thoughtful  men  of  Georgia  gives 
this  fitting  picture  of  his  early  life :  "I  am  quite  familiar  with  some 
facts  in  his  biography,  and  I  have  reasons  to  remember  that  section 
of  Alabama  with  peculiar  vividness.  Its  physical  conformation, 
soil  and  climate  early  attracted  attention,  and  the  families  that  set- 
tled around  Oak  Bowery  and  Lafayette  brought  with  them  the  inter- 
blended  blood  of  Georgia,  Virginia  and  Kentucky.  Thirty-five  or 
forty  years  ago,  I  knew  many  of  the  old  population,  and  especially 
the  Methodist  families.     The  pioneers  had  even  then  become  the 


GRANDFATHER  JONES. 


GRANDMOTHER  JONES. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  41 

patriarchs,  and  a  finer  race  of  people  I  never  saw.  The  pictures- 
cf  their  sainthness,  their  tender  home  hfe  and  kind  neighborHness,. 
the  absence  of  city  conventionahsms  and  the  freedom  of  rural  man- 
liness, were  very  beautiful  to  me  in  those  days,  and  more  attractive 
now  in  the  mellowing  light  of  later  years.  How  far  these  home- 
like forms  of  loveliness  and  easy  habits  of  Christian  intercourse 
affected  the  young  Sam,  I  can  not  say;  but  I  can  say  that  it  v/as  a 
fine  tonic  and  atmosphere  for  a  boy  to  breathe  in  his  early  da3^s. 
Purity,  fervor  and  buoyancy  abounded  in  the  atmosphere  of  these 
hills,  where  the  great  oaks  and  hickories  were  symbols  of  the  health 
and  vigor  of  Mr.  Jones's  ancestry.  No  doubt  the  roll  and  sweep  of 
the  uplands  and  their  wooded  forests  were  felt  in  his  hereditary 
blood,  but  the  blood  itself  is  unmistakable.  The  grandmother,  the 
mother,  the  father  of  Sam,  were  people  of  marked  character;  and 
we  may  well  believe  that  in  such  instances  heredity  is  among  the 
surest  and  best  of  Providential  laws.  I  have  no  doubt  that  Sam 
Jones  is  a  large  debtor  to  his  ancestral  blood.  Blood  dies,  but  blood 
manages  somehow  to  get  into  character  and  never  quite  dies." 


CHAPTER  III. 


His  Eari.y  Days. 

Mr.  Jones  was  born  in  Chambers  county,  Alabama,  October  i6, 
1847.  When  he  was  nine  years  old,  his  family  moved  to  Cartersville, 
Bartow  county,  Georgia,  where  he  was  reared,  and  resided  at  the 
time  of  his  death.  At  his  mother's  death,  the  family  consisted  of 
the  father,  an  older  brother,  a  sister,  and  a  younger  brother.  The 
children  went  to  the  home  of  their  grandfather,  Samuel  G.  Jones. 

His  grandmother  exerted  a  wonderful  influence  upon  his  young 
mind.  She  was  one  of  the  holiest  women  that  ever  lived.  Her 
spirituality  was  remarkable.  She  read  the  Bible  through  thirty- 
seven  times,  on  her  knees.  She  was  wonderfully  gifted  in  prayer, 
and  spent  much  time  in  secret  prayer  having  a  time  and  place  set 
apart  for  this  devotion  daily.  This  made  a  great  impression  on  her 
children  and  grandchildren,  and  Mr.  Jones  was  greatly  impressed 
by  her  angelic  face  as  he  saw  it  upturned  towards  heaven.  She 
would  go  to  the  church  dressed  in  the  old-fashioned  way,  wearing 
heavy  shoes,  and,  when  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  would  come  upon 
her  she  would  give  vent  to  her  feelings  by  shouting  the  praises  of 
God.  As  she  would  walk  up  and  down  the  aisle  clapping  her  hands, 
she  moved  as  lightly  and  gently  as  if  she  were  not  touching  the 
earth.  Her  wonderful  example  of  piety,  prayerfulness  and  study 
of  God's  Word  made  an  abiding  impression  upon  Mr.  Jones;  and, 
no  doubt,  helped  to  lay  the  fundamental  principles  of  a  deeply  pious, 
earnest  and  consecrated  life. 

In  1859,  Captain  Jones  was  married  to  Miss  Jennie  Skinner,  and 
moved  to  Cartersville,  Georgia.  As  a  stepmother,  she  was  kind  and 
good  to  the  children,  and  did  all  that  she  could  to  instill  further  into 
their  minds  the  principles  of  virtue  and  honesty.  Thus  guided  and 
controlled  by  her  love,  and  strengthened  and  supported  by  a  father's 
counsel,  Mr.  Jones  was  protected  and  saved  from  evil  influences. 

(42) 


Sam  p.  Toners.  4S 

In  the  home  he  was  always  obedient,  having  the  utmost  reverence 
for  his  father  and  strong  devotion  for  his  stepmother.  There  was 
nothing  very'  extraordinary  in  his  boyhood  days,  except  that  he  was 
always  very  bright  and  full  of  life.  He  was  witty  and  humorous,, 
even  as  a  child.  In  school  he  was  so  full  of  mischief  and  fun  that 
he  was  constantly  playing  pranks  and  jokes  on  some  one. 

While  Mr.  Jones  studied  very  little  during  his  boyhood  days,  he 
never  failed  to  recite  his  lessons  creditably.  His  mind  was  so  alert 
that  it  didn't  take  him  long  to  get  ready  for  a  recitation.  This  left 
him  free  to  play,  to  tease  the  other  boys. 

One  of  the  great  events  of  those  early  school  days  was  the  Friday 
afternoon  speeches.  It  was  the  custom  of  the  teacher  to  select  the 
speeches  for  the  boys,  but  Mr.  Jones  would  never  allow  him  to 
select  his,  but  would  make  his  own  selections,  and  the  school  was 
greatly  surprised  at  his  speeches.  The  other  boys  would  have  to 
go  to  the  woods,  study  and  practice  their  pieces  for  a  week  or 
more,  but  Mr.  Jones  would  select  his  speech  on  Friday  and  commit 
it  to  memory,  and  be  ready  for  that  afternoon.  His  style  of  address 
was  not  boy  oratory,  but  he  spoke  in  an  easy,  conversational  style. 
He  would  create  great  interest  when  he  arose  to  speak,  and  would 
invariably  bring  the  house  down,  and  the  school  would  always  cheer 
him. 

While  in  school  at  Oak  Bowery,  Alabama,  to  W.  F.  Slaton,  after- 
wards Major  Slaton,  superintendent  of  the  Atlanta  public  schools,, 
as  a  mere  child,  perhaps  the  age  of  five,  he  was  even  then  a  leader. 
When  the  night  came  for  the  older  boys  to  hold  their  commencement 
exercises,  they  begged  Mr.  Slaton  to  let  "Sam  Jones,"  as  he  was 
called  by  them,  take  some  part.  Finally  Mr.  Slaton  agreed  and 
himself  wrote  a  parody  on  the  even  then  trite : 

"You  would  scarce  expect  one  of  my  age 
To  speak  in  public  on  the  stage." 

He  had  committed  these  lines  to  memory,  but  when  the  time 
came  for  the  delivery  of  this  speech,  he  was  fast  asleep.  By  the 
application  of  a  wet  towel  in  the  young  orator's  face,  he  was  quickly 
awakened.     Professor  Slaton  carried  him  in  his  arms  and  stood 


44  Sam  P.  Jones. 

him  on  the  table  on  the  stage,  and  there  he  made  his  speech.     The 
last  two  hnes  were: 

"In  coming  years  and  thundering  tones 
The  w^orld  shall  hear  of  Sam  P.  Jones." 

Pie  recited  the  speech  in  his  peculiar  way  and  was  encored,  and 
recited  it  again,  and  then  several  times  before  the  audience  became 
satisfied.  The  other  speeches  v/ere  made  by  young  men  who  were 
as  old  as  their  teacher.  The  contrast  was  so  great  that  it  added 
special  delight  to  the  audience. 

How  true  the  prophesy.  If  there  was  ever  a  man  who  literallv 
shook  the  wodd  with  his  preaching,  it  was  he.  For  months  after 
the  delivery  of  that  little  speech,  he  kept  his  little  companions  and 
himself  in  candy,  for  everywhere  he  went,  he  was  asked  to  repeat 
it,  and  name  his  price  in  candy.  The  faithful  tutorship  of  Professor 
Slaton  was  worth  much  to  him,  as  it  laid  the  groundwork  of  educa- 
tion before  he  was  seven  years  of  age.  Like  many  wonderful 
preachers,  and  great  lawyers  and  professional  men,  he  built  upon 
the  foundation  laid,  which  is,  after  all,  the  safest  and  best  education 
to  be  had. 

Mr.  Charlie  Jones,  a  brother,  in  speaking  of  those  early  school 
days,  says :  "Sam  was  a  most  lovable  boy.  He  was  the  most  attract- 
ive personality  to  me  in  my  youth,  and  he  remains  the  most  attract- 
ive person  to  me  in  all  the  world,  of  all  the  men  I  have  known  or 
read  of,  and  he  was  my  brother  true  and  tried  for  nearly  fifty-three 
years. 

"In  my  youth,  I  loved  to  follow  him  wherever  he  went,  whether 
on  hunting  or  fishing  expeditions,  as  on  such  occasions  he  was 
always  joined  by  other  genial  spirits  of  our  home  town.  He  was 
always  the  'wit  and  the  clown'  of  our  party.  Those  were  the  bright  - 
est  and  best  days  of  my  life.  At  school  he  would  often  dispel  the 
tedium  of  study,  and  have  both  pupils  and  teachers  in  an  uproar 
hy  doing  the  unexpected  and  funny  thing.  When  the  teacher  would 
catch  him  in  some  of  his  pranks  and  begin  to  reprimand  him,  with 
great  dignity  and  serenity  of  manner  for  his  misconduct,  Sam  would 
look  at  him  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  and  a  smile  that  would  bring 


Sam  p.  Jones.  45 

an  answering  smile  from  the  teacher,  which  dispelled  all  of  his 
dignity  to  the  extent  that  he  could  but  order  him  back  to  his  seat 
amid  the  laughter  of  the  school,  and  thus  it  was  at  home  and  in 
school,  he  could  always  dispel  a  frown  of  disapproval  from  our 
father's  or  the  teacher's  faces  with  some  droll  word  or  act,  which 
never  failed  to  put  them  in  good  humor,  and  make  them  love  him 
all  the  more. 

"When  we  would  have  our  boyhood  disagreements,  and  some- 
times come  to  blows,  it  ahvays  ended  by  Sam  putting  a  nice  pocket- 
Imife  or  a  piece  of  money  in  the  latch  of  the  gate  as  he  left  the  lot 
or  yard,  before  me,  and  then  he  would  hide  near  by  and  watch  me 
find  it,  when  he  would  look  at  me  with  moistened  eyes  and  merry 
laughter  as  we  made  up  and  became  better  friends  than  ever." 

When  the  war  broke  out  between  the  States  in  1861,  Captaia 
John  Jones  hurried  to  Virginia  to  join  Lee,  joining  the  ranks  of 
the  Southern  Confederacy,  leaving  his  second  son,  Sam,  to  remain 
Avith  his  stepmother  and  the  younger  children  to  assist  her  in  caring 
for  the  homxe,  but  v/hen  it  was  known  that  Sherman  was  making 
h.is  way  towards  Atlanta  and  would  soon  be  in  this  part  of  the 
State,  acting  upon  the  advice  of  her  husband,  his  stepmother  decided 
to  refugee  to  South  Georgia,  feeling  that  they  would  be  safer  there. 
At  this  time  Captain  Jones  had  a  livery  stable  in  Cartersville  and 
his  son  Sam  was  sent  out  to  take  the  horses  to  a  place  of  safety,  and 
he  was  expected  to  come  back  and  go  with  his  mother.  But  i\Irs. 
Jones  had  to  go  earlier  than  she  expected,  hearing  of  the  approach 
of  Sherman,  and  expecting  to  meet  Sam,  she  started  on  her  trip 
south,  but  he  had  decided  to  com.e  home  another  way  and  in  doing 
this  he  missed  her.  He  came  .on  to  Cartersville,  where  he  found  the 
old  black  woman,  j^vlammy  Viney,  whom  he,  as  well  as  all  the 
tamily,  loved  very  much,  in  the  home.  After  spending  a  few  days  at 
home  with  her  he  decided  to  go  north,  as  Sherman  had  already 
taken  possession  of  the  town  and  surroimding  country.  Here  he 
lost  sight  of  his  mother  and  did  not  know  where  to  communicate 
with  her  for  several  months. 

He  made  his  way  to  Nashville,  and  while  there  he  realized  that 
he  had  no  means  and  no  employment,  and  was  at  a  loss  to  know 


46  Sam  P.  Jones. 

just  what  course  to  pursue.  At  this  time  the  Sixth  Kentucky  reg- 
iment was  at  this  place,  en  route  to  Louisville,  Kentucky,  to  be  mus- 
tered out  of  service,  as  they  had  served  four  years  in  the  Federal 
service.  Most  of  this  regiment  was  made  up  of  boys  from  Henry 
county,  Kentucky,  and  among  them  were  two  young  men,  neighbors 
of  my  father's,  Captain  Webb  Owens  and  Lieutenant  Dupuy.  They 
were  much  attracted  to  this  yoimg  man  and  he  opened  his  heart 
and  told  them  his  story,  and  of  his  separation  from  his  family.  They 
very  cordially  invited  him  to  go  home  with  them  and  remain  until 
he  could  get  in  communication  with  his  family.  He  decided  to  go 
with  these  new  friends  and  remain  until  he  could  hear  from  his 
father  and  be  able  to  return  to  his  Georgia  home. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  he  got  into  communication  with  his 
father,  and  returned  to  Cartersville.  He  then  took  up  his  studies 
which  had  been  laid  aside  on  account  of  the  war. 

In  his  eighteenth  or  nineteenth  year,  he  entered  the  excellent 
school  of  ex-Congressman  W.  H.  Felton  and  his  intelligent  wife. 
Under  the  tutorship  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Felton  he  made  excellent  prog- 
ress. 

In  speaking  of  him,  Mrs.  Felton  says:  "I  first  knew  Sam  when 
a  boy.  I  recall  his  fine  physique.  He  never  had  an  ounce  of  surplus 
flesh  in  his  life,  and  always  had  a  springy  step ;  and  those  beautiful, 
bright  eyes,  with  a  merry  twinkle — that  were  so  fascinating  in  those 
early  days.  He  was  the  life  of  any  gathering,  and  had  an  independ- 
ence of  spirit  and  disregard  for  conventionalities  that  was  apparent 
the  first  time  I  saw  him. 

"Later  on,  when  he  entered  our  school,  he  was  full  of  life  and 
spirit,  and  his  original  way  of  illustrating  things  or  tallying  about 
events,  even  then  was  a  force  in  the  town.  He  never  copied  after 
anybody.  Whether  he  took  a  pride  in  his  originality,  or  otherwise, 
the  fact  was  discovered  then  that  Sam  Jones  was  a  unique  person- 
ality. Although  he  was  mischievous,  he  could  be  relied  upon  to  do 
what  he  said  he  would  do,  and  in  that  early  period  of  his  life  no 
one  who  was  closely  associated  with  him  failed  to  understand  and 
appreciate  the  tenderness  of  his  nature.  The  nearer  you  got  to 
him,  the  better  you  understood  that  peculiar  trait  of  his  nature^ 


Sam  p.  Jones.  47 

which  grew  and  expanded,  and  developed  until  he  passed  from 
earth." 

After  leaving  this  school  he  went  to  Euharlee,  Ga.,  and  continued 
his  studies  under  the  leadership  of  the  late  Professor  Ronald  John- 
son. He  was  in  line  for  a  collegiate  education,  which  his  father 
intended  giving  him,  but  it  was  at  this  place  his  health  completely 
broke  down,  and  on  account  of  this  he  was  forced  to  relinquish 
his  hope  of  obtaining  a  college  education.  He  suffered  from  the 
worst  form  of  nervous  dyspepsia;  and,  in  his  sufferings,  with  his 
health  wrecked,  with  sleepless  nights  and  restless  days,  he  became 
discouraged  and  despondent  and  sought  relief  in  drink.  Here  is 
where  he  began  his  dissipation.  At  times  his  suffering  was  so 
intense  that  he  would  take  a  drink,  believing  that  it  was  the  only 
thing  that  would  save  his  life.  Soon  the  habit  was  firmly  fixed; 
with  his  health  gone,  and  disappointed  because  his  education  could 
not  be  finished,  he  went  deeper  and  deeper  in  intoxication. 

Having  reached  the  point  in  a  young  man's  life  where  it  is  so 
much  easier  to  drift  on  with  the  tide  than  to  heed  the  warnings  of 
loved  ones,  he  soon  became  a  slave  to  liquor. 

It  was  in  this  great  nervous  state,  with  his  health  almost  gone 
that  he  began  to  study  law.  After  one  year's  study,  he  was  admit- 
ted to  the  Bar  and  began  to  practice  law.  Judge  Milner,  of  our 
town,  said  to  Captain  Jones,  in  speaking  of  his  son:  "You  have 
raised  the  brightest  boy  ever  admitted  to  the  Georgia  Bar."  Soon 
the  speeches  that  he  made  at  the  Bar  became  the  talk  of  the  town. 
They  were  bright,  spicy,  thoughtful  and  powerful.  His  words 
were  simply  irresistible.  Had  he  continued  the  practice  of  law, 
his  name  might  have  gone  down  in  history  by  the  side  of  Robert 
Toombs  and  Alexander  Stephens,  Georgia's  most  able  and  noted 
lawyers.  But,  thank  God,  in  following  the  path  of  his  lowly  Master, 
he  has  the  honor  of  being  so  like  his  Lord,  which  is  far  greater  than 
ranking  as  a  statesman. 

The  new  associations  growing  out  of  his  legal  profession  made 
it  easy  for  him  to  continue  his  dissipation.  The  success  that  he  met 
with  also  helped  to  ruin  him.  The  suppers,  banquets  and  social 
gatherings  caused  him  to  plunge  deeper  into  dissipation,  until  finally 
he  lost  grip  upon  his  practice  and  abandoned  it  altogether. 


48  Sam  P.  Joncs. 

While  many  people  are  under  the  impression  that  Mr.  Jones  was 
an  habitual  and  constant  drunkard,  this,  however,  is  not  true.  He 
never  reached  such  a  point  in  his  dissipation.  Others  have  also 
believed  that  his  dissipation  covered  a  period  of  many  years,  when  in 
fact  this  sad  period  of  his  life  was  of  but  five  or  six  years'  dura- 
tion. People  have  thought  that  the  sins  that  accompany  drink  had 
a  strong  hold  upon  him.    He  was  remarkably  free  from  such  sins. 

Rev.  Parks  Jones,  his  uncle,  says :  "I  was  with  him  more  or  less 
from  our  school  days  until  his  conversion.  He  was  at  our  home, 
and  I  was  a.t  his.  I  never  heard  him  swear  an  oath  or  use  a  profane 
expression  in  my  life.  I  dcn't  say  that  he  didn't,  but  I  never  heard 
him.  I  never  saw  him  drunk  or  in  a  drunken  crowd.  The  nearest 
I  ever  came  to  seeing  him  drunk  was  the  year  that  he  was  converted. 
He  was  down  on  the  corner  oi  a.  street  in  Cartersville  and  w^alked 
off  towards  a  barroom.  His  father  noticing  him,  called  in  pitiful 
tones :  'Sam !  Sam !'  That  attracted  niy  attention,  but  he  did  not 
hear  him,,  or  if  he  did,  he  paid  no  attention  to  his  father's  trembling 
voice."  To  him  in  after-years  the  sin  of  drunkenness 'was  so  hate- 
ful and  enormous  that  he  never  forgave  himself  for  his  dissipation. 
With  such  conception  of  the  heinousness  of  drink  he  was  compelled 
to  speak  out  in  fearful  denunciation  of  it,  in  his  own  life,  as  well 
as  the  lives  of  others. 

The  world  while  hearing  him  failed  to  see,  as  he  did,  the  hideous- 
ness  of  drinking,  and  got  the  impression  that  he  was  a  constant, 
habitual  and  wicked  drunkard.  He  was  never  anything  but  good 
at  heart,  and  it  was  physical  weakness  that  made  him  dissipate. 

As  to  my  sympathy,  prayers  and  devotion  to  him  in  those  sad 
years  I  shall  let  him  speak : 

"In  November,  1868,  at  the  age  of  twenty-one,  only  one  month 
after  m.y  admission  to  the  Bar,  I  was  married  to  Miss  Laura  McEl- 
wain,  of  Henry  county,  Kentucky.  I  brought  her  to  my  Carters- 
ville home,  and  continued  in  the  practice  of  law  with  rich  promise 
of  success;  but  notwithstanding  the  remiOnstrances  of  my  good  wife, 
notwithstanding  her  tears  and  pleadings,  I  continued  my  social 
drinking,  often  returning  home  intoxicated.  The  habit  of  drink 
was  gradually  established,  and  all  the  am.bitions  and  vital  forces- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  49 

of  my  life  were  being  undermined  by  the  fearful  appetite,  which 
was  stronger  than  the  tears  of  my  wife,  the  advice  of  my  friends 
and  the  dictates  of  my  own  better  judgment. 

"My  faithful  wife,  with  a  courage  born  of  despair,  with  a  strong 
faith  in  God  and  with  a  bright  hope  for  better  days,  clung  to  me  iii 
the  darkest  hours  of  our  married  life,  and  never  ceased  her  efforts 
or  surrendered  her  faith  in  the  promises  of  God  until  the  day  had 
dawned,  and  she  realized  that  God  is  not  slack  concerning  Hig 
promises.  Though  her  tears  and  prayers  often  moved  me,  and 
though  I  promised  time  and  again  to  give  up  drink,  yet  in  spite 
of  myself  and  every  effort  to  stop  me,  I  continued  in  my  dissipated 
life  until  the  month  of  August,  1872." 


3  j 


CHAPTER  IV. 


His  Conversion  and  First  Sermon. 

This  was  the  period  of  Mr.  Jones's  Hfe  when  he  temporarily 
reformed  and  Hved  sober  for  eighteen  months.  Then  he  went  with 
some  of  the  citizens  of  our  town  on  the  first  excursion  that  was  run 
over  the  new  railroad  to  Rockmart,  and  they  persuaded  him  to 
drink  wine  with  them.  This  caused  him  to  return  to  his  fonner 
habits,  and  for  about  six  weeks  he  continued  to  drink,  until  he  was 
brought  face  to  face  with  his  dying  father. 

His  father  was  sick  for  several  weeks,  and  it  was  the  custom  of 
the  ministers  to  call  and  have  prayers  with  him.  Mr.  Jones  would 
attend  these  prayer  services  around  his  father's  bedside.  As  the  end 
came  nearer,  Captain  Jones  would  tell  of  the  presence  of  the  Lord, 
and  speak  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  every  one  feel  that  God  was 
really  present.  He  would  take  his  friends  by  the  hand  and  in  a  cool, 
calm,  delightful  way  say,  "This  little  home  that  God  has  given  me 
for  my  wife  and  children  is  filled  with  the  glory  of  the  Lord. 
I  am  physically  very  weak,  but  spiritually  I  am  strong.  When 
every  other  prop  fails  me,  then  Jesus  Christ  stands  firm." 

Just  before  the  end  came,  he  turned  to  each  member  of  his  family 
and  spoke  a  parting  word.  Mr.  Jones  was  standing  at  the  foot  of  the 
bed,  looking  down  into  his  father's  face.  When  his  father  came  to 
him  for  a  moment  he  was  speechless,  while  looking  into  his  son's 
face.  Finally  he  said :  "My  poor,  wicked,  wayward,  reckless  boy. 
You  have  broken  the  heart  of  your  sweet  wife  and  brought  me 
down  in  sorrow  to  my  grave ;  promise  me,  my  boy,  to  meet  me  in 
heaven."  Standing  there,  convulsed  with  emotion  from  head  to 
foot,  he  stepped  around  to  the  side  of  the  bed  and  took  his  father's 
bony  hand  in  his  and  said :  "Father,  I'll  make  you  the  promise,  I'll 

(50) 


Sam  p.  Jonks.  51 

quit !  I'll  quit !  I'll  quit !"  He  said  it  in  such  a  way  that  his  dying 
father  had  eveiy  assurance  that  he  meant  it.  A  change  was  seen 
in  his  father's  countenance,  and  the  pledge  from  his  boy,  he  be- 
lieved, meant  the  reformation  of  his  life. 

Then  and  there  Mr.  Jones  burned  the  bridges  behind  him,  and 
walked  away  from  the  dying  couch  determined  to  live  for  the 
right.  In  after  years,  including  some  of  his  last  utterances  in  Okla- 
homa City,  Mr.  Jones  said :  "Thank  God,  I  can  say  every  wilful 
step  of  my  life  since  that  moment  has  been  towards  the  redemption 
of  that  promise." 

When  Mr.  Jones  turned  from  the  bedside  of  his  dying  father  he 
was  groping  in  darkness  and  in  search  of  Jesus  Christ  the  Savior 
of  sinners.  While  the  promise  he  made  his  father  was  a  step 
toward  salvation,  and  helped  to  bring  about  a  speedy  reformation, 
he  was  not  entirely  assured  of  his  acceptance  with  God.  After  his 
father's  death  he  went  down  to  the  home  of  his  grandfather.  Rev. 
Samuel  G.  Jones,  on  Saturday,  and  spent  the  Sabbath.  That  morn- 
ing his  grandfather  preached  at  Moore's  Chapel.  Mr.  Jones  was 
under  deepest  conviction,  and  at  the  close  of  the  sermon  he  walked 
forward  and  gave  his  grandfather  his  hand,  asking  for  the  prayers 
of  God's  people. 

His  conviction  became  deeper  each  day,  and  he  saw  his  sins  as 
never  before.  While  under  the  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  had 
a  glimpse  of  the  cross.  As  Paul  said,  "The  cross  was  a  stumbling 
block  to  the  Jew,  and  foolishness  to  the  Greek" ;  so  it  was  with  him 
until  the  light  of  the  Holy  Spirit  flooded  his  soul.  Mr.  Jones  has 
described  his  own  experience  in  this  illustration : 

"I  have  walked  out  in  the  mountainous  regions  of  my  own  State 
an  hour  before  daybreak  :  I  have  stood  on  the  porch  of  some  country 
home  and  looked  at  the  hills  and  valleys  around  me;  the}^  presented 
but  the  dimi  outline  of  something  that  I  could  not  appreciate,  I  could 
not  fully  see.  I  go  back  into  that  dwelling,  and  in  three  hours 
more  I  walk  out  again  on  the  front  porch.  The  sun  has  risen  on  the 
scene  and  bathed  the  mountains  and  valleys  in  a  sea  of  light,  and 
now  I  look  and  beauties  and  splendors  that  never  met  my  eye  before 
face  me  on  every  side.    The  light  of  the  sun  shows  me  the  beauties 


52  Sam  P.  Jon^s. 

of  the  world  and  helps  me  to  understand  largely  its  mysteries. 
Brethren,  I  saw  the  cross  erected,  God's  only  begotten  Son,  the  vic- 
tim, suspended ;  he  suffered ;  he  died ;  and  yet  I  saw  but  the  dim  out- 
lines of  something — I  could  not  catch  it  in  its  fullness ;  I  could  not 
take  it  in  in  all  its  beauty;  and  then  the  Divine  Spirit  rose  on  the 
scene  and  bathed  the  cross  in  a  sea  of  light. 

'I  saw  one  hanging  on  a  tree, 

In  agonies  and  blood, 
Who  fixed  his  languid  eyes  on  me. 

As  near  his  cross  I  stood. 

'Sure,  never  to  my  latest  breath 

Can  I  forget  that  look; 
It  seemed  to  charge  me  with  his  death, 

Though  not  a  word  he  spoke. 

'My  conscience  felt  and  owned  the  guilt. 
And  plunged  me  in  despair; 
I  saw  my  sins  his  blood  had  spilt, 
And  helped  to  nail  him  there. 

'A  second  look  he  gave,  which  said : 

"I  freely  all  forgive ; 
This  blood  is  for  thy  ransom  paid; 

I  die  that  thou  mayst  live.'  " 

The  revival  in  which  Mr.  Jones  was  converted  was  held  at  Fel- 
ton's  Chapel.  This  was  one  of  the  regular  appointments  on  his 
grandfather's  circuit.  Sunday  morning  we  went  out  to  the  service, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  sermon  grandfather  Tones  opened  the  doors 
of  the  church,  and  to  my  astonishment,  Mr.  Jones  arose  and  walked 
up  and  joined  the  church.  In  speaking  of  that  gracious  hour,  Mr. 
Jones  says : 

"I  never  shall  forget  the  day  when  I  walked  up  in  the  little  old 
church  in  Bartow  county,  with  the  only  fear  in  my  heart  that  I 


Sam  p.  Jones.  53 

would  not  be  received  into  the  church.  That  day  the  man  of 
God,  my  grandfather,  stood  up  and  preached,  and  when  he 
opened  the  doors  of  the  church  I  sat  back  in  the  audience 
and  hstened,  and  fear  again  came  to  me  that  I  would  not  be  re- 
ceived, my  condition  was  so  apparently  hopeless,  my  life  and  habits 
had  been  so  dissolute  and  so  well  known.  Again  I  soon  had  the  im- 
pulse to  go  forward,  and  then  an  overpowering  something  said,  'No, 
3'ou  are  too  weak  and  afraid;'  and  so  it  was  until  they  had  sung 
one,  two  and  three  verses  of  the  good  old  hymn,  and  it  looked  like  I 
would  fail,  but  directly  I  got  a  new  strength,  and  I  said  to  myself  : 

*I  can  but  perish  if  I  go; 

I  am  resolved  to  try; 
For  if  I  stay  away  I  know 

I  must  forever  die.' 

"And  in  that  little  country  church,  with  my  dear  old  grandfather 
preaching  the  sermon,  I  went  and  gave  myself  to  God.  I  went  for- 
ward and  took  his  hand  and  looked  up  into  his  face  and  said : 
'Grandfather,  I  take  this  step  to-day;  I  give  myself,  my  heart  and 
life,  what  is  left  of  it,  all  to  God  and  to  His  cause.'  He  took  me 
and  pulled  me  up  and  laid  my  head  on  his  bosom,  and  wept  like  a 
child,  and  said  brokenly :  'God  bless  you,  my  boy,  and  may  you  be 
faithful  unto  death.'  And  they  received  me  into  the  church.  And 
I  want  to  tell  you,  my  neighbor,  whatever  else  may  be  said,  living 
or  dying,  I  was  a  reformed  and  changed  man  from  that  hour." 

For  a  week  or  more  he  had  been  very  sad  and  depressed.  I  did 
not  understand  his  condition.  However,  on  our  way  home  he  said : 
"I  can't  tell  you  just  how  I've  felt  the  past  week ;  I  have  been  seek- 
ing forgiveness  for  my  sins.  God  has  pardoned  me.  I  shall  not 
drink  any  more.  I  am  done  with  it.  I  have  told  you  many  times 
that  I  have  reformed  my  life,  but  you  have  a  sober  husband  now. 
It  is  now  true," 

As  soon  as  the  great  change  took  place,  he  felt  impressed  that  he 
should  preach.  He  did  not  know  whence  this  impression  came.  He 
sought  the  advice  and  counsel  of  several  preachers,  with  this  reply 


54  Sam  P.  Jones. 

in  substance  from  each :  "You  are  called  to  preach ;  you  can  come 
willingly  into  it,  or  you  can  be  whipped  into  it,  or  you  will  lose  your 
religion,  if  you  refuse."  The  last  point  was  always  the  most  pow- 
erful argument  to  him.  He  said  he  felt  as  did  Gideon  Ousnley, 
when  the  voice  said,  "Gideon,  go  and  preach  the  gospel."  "How 
can  I  preach,  O  Lord ;  I  can  not  speak,  for  I  am  a  child."  But  when 
his  mind  was  fully  satisfied  that  he  should  enter  the  ministry,  he 
began  immediately  to  tell  how  the  Lord  had  saved  him.  He  spoke 
as  only  a  man  can  who  knew  the  full  saving  power  of  his  Lord  and 
Savior. 

But,  like  Gideon  Ousnley,  again,  he  had  discovered  the  disease 
and  found  the  remedy,  and  this  gives  the  physician  complete  control 
over  the  patient,  so  he  took  his  Bible  and  went  from  his  knees  to  the 
pulpit  with  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  him,  and  with  an 
earnest  desire  for  the  salvation  of  lost  souls.  While  he  had  no  the- 
ological training,  he  was  prepared  to  preach  to  sinners,  because  of 
the  anointing  that  God  had  given  him.  In  after-years,  in  speaking 
of  theological  seminaries,  he  said  "that  he  wouldn't  give  a  Georgia 
circuit,  a  pony  and  a  Bible  for  all  the  'theological  cemeteries'  in  the 
world." 

He  preached  his  first  sermon  one  week  after  his  conversion  at 
the  old  New  Hope  church,  two  miles  from  Cartersville,  his  home. 
In  the  afternoon  grandfather  Jones  told  him  that  he  would  have  to 
preach  that  night.  We  rode  out  to  the  church  in  a  wagon,  the  party 
consisting  of  Mr.  Jones,  myself  and  our  little  child,  Mr.  Jones  had 
not  been  licensed  to  preach. 

Grandfather  said :  "I  will  go  your  security  until  conference 
meets."  So  Mr.  Jones  agreed  to  preach  for  him.  He  was  encour- 
aged further  by  his  grandfather  saying :  "If  God  has  called  you  to 
preach,  you  can  preach;  come  into  the  pulpit."  The  church  was 
crowded  with  earnest  Christians,  who  were  in  deepest  sympathy 
with  him  and  supported  him  with  their  prayers,  while  there  were 
many  of  his  old  companions  and  others  who  were  there  through 
mere  curiosity. 

With  much  anxiety  and  fear,  he  took  his  place  in  the  pulpit. 
After  the  singing  and  prayer  he  arose  and  announced  his  text  from 


Sam  p.  Jones.  65 

the  first  chapter  of  Romans  and  the  sixteenth  verse:  "For  I  am  not 
ashamed  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  for  it  is  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  to  every  one  that  believeth;  to  the  Jew  first,  and  also  to 
the  Greek." 

As  he  looked  over  the  congregation,  he  realized  that  every  one 
present  knew  him.  They  knew  his  past ;  they  had  seen  him  only  as 
a  wild,  dissipated  young  man.  He  didn't  assume  any  pulpit  manner 
or  attitude,  nor  did  he  attempt  any  analysis  of  his  text,  or  give  any 
attention  to  its  unfolding,  but  began  to  tell  his  experience  of  the  sal- 
vation that  had  come  to  him.  God  had  saved  him,  and  he  was  not 
ashamed  to  proclaim  it  to  the  world.  His  deep  earnestness  and  evi- 
dent sincerity,  and  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  him  immedi- 
ately got  hold  of  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  audience.  As  Mr. 
Jones  said,  before  he  proceeded  far  into  the  text,  he  adopted  the 
plan  of  the  good  old  Methodist  preacher  who  got  into  the  bushes  and 
closed  his  Bible,  saying:  "Brethren,  I  can  not  preach  the  text,  but 
I  can  tell  my  experience  in  spite  of  the  devil."  Out  of  his  heart  full 
of  love  to  God  and  to  men,  he  told  of  the  great  things  that  God 
had  done  for  him. 

Mr.  Jones  said  he  remembered  only  two  things  of  this  his  first 
sermon.    One  was  "God  is  good,"  and  the  other,  "I  am  happy." 

The  Holy  Spirit  was  present  to  bear  testimony  and  many  were 
melted  to  tears  and  deeply  moved  to  a  better  life. 

At  the  close  of  his  earnest  exhortation,  he  extended  an  invitation 
to  penitents,  and  many  rushed  to  the  altar  and  were  happily  con- 
verted to  God. 

At  the  close  of  the  service  his  friends  took  him  by  the  hand  and 
assured  him  of  their  prayers  and  bade  him  God-speed  in  the  great 
work  that  he  had  undertaken.  His  grandfather  threw  his  arms 
around  him,  saying,  "A'ly  boy,  you  are  called  to  preach,  God  will  be 
with  you." 

Mr.  Jones  occasionally  went  with  his  grandfather  as  he  preached 
at  the  churches  on  his  circuit.  He  had  fully  made  up  his  mind  to 
join  the  North  Georgia  Conference,  which  was  to  meet  in  Atlanta 
in  about  three  months.  At  the  quarterly  conference  at  Moore's 
Chapel  he  was  licensed  to  preach,  and  was  recommended  to  the  an- 


56  Sam  P.  Jones. 

nual  conference.  His  grandfather  in  presenting  him  as  a  candidate 
for  local  preacher's  license  and  recommendation  to  the  conference, 
said :  "You  have  heard  my  grandson  preach ;  you  have  seen  the 
results  that  have  followed  his  preaching;  he  wants  to  devote  his 
life  to  the  ministry,  if  you  believe  that  he  is  called  of  God  to  this 
work,  give  him  the  authority  of  the  church  to  preach."  The  con- 
ference unanimously  voted  to  license  and  recommend  him  to  the 
next  annual  conference. 


a 
CO 

I— t 

o 

> 

Q 

w 
o 


\^ 

o 
Pi- 

a 

CO 

t— » 
Q 

w 

a 

<: 

w 

W 

ai 

n 

a" 

a 
Pi 
tt 
W. 
a 

c4 

< 
> 


CHAPTER  V. 


His  First  Work  in  the  Conference. 

The  time  between  his  conversion  and  the  meeting  of  the  an- 
nual conference  was  spent  in  earnest  prayer,  deep  meditation  and 
constant  Bible  study.  Here  he  laid  the  foundation  for  his  great 
ministiy.  He  learned  the  secret  and  art  of  prayer.  He  learned  the 
blessedness  and  strength  of  meditation.  He  stored  his  mind  with 
God's  Holy  Word,  and  became  charged  with  its  peculiar  power.  His 
•wonderful  memory  retained  the  Scriptures  that  he  learned  in  those 
-early  days,  which  served  him  to  his  last  hours.  He  had  a  wonderful 
knowledge  of  the  Bible,  and  Scripture  was  ever  fresh  in  his  mind. 
Some  of  the  most  beautiful  and  striking  illustrations  that  Mr. 
Jones  used  in  his  preaching  were  taken  from  the  Bible.  His  delin- 
eations of  Bible  characters  were  the  most  effective  of  any  illustra- 
tions he  used. 

His  consecration  was  deepened  day  by  day,  and  he  was  so  happy 
at  the  thought  of  preaching  that  he  lost  sight  of  everything  else. 
While  I  was  happy  because  of  his  conversion,  and  his  friends  were 
■delighted  at  the  stand  that  he  had  taken,  it  was  not  clear  in  my 
mind  that  it  was  the  best  thing  for  him  to  join  the  conference  and 
take  up  the  regular  work  of  the  ministry.  I  was  anxious  for  him 
to  be  a  local  preacher,  but  was  slow  in  giving  my  consent  for  him  to 
-enter  the  itinerancy.  However,  God  saw  differently,  and  following 
the  leadings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Mr.  Jones  arranged  to  go  to  At- 
lanta in  the  fall  of  1872  and  join  the  North  Georgia  Annual  Con- 
ference. 

He  frequently  related  a  little  experience  we  had  when  I  opposed 
his  joining  the  conference.     He  said : 

"I  was  called  to  preach  the  week  I  was  converted.  I  made  up  my 
^mind  at  once,  and  I  went  to  my  wife  and  told  her  I  was  going  to 

(.S7) 


58  Sam  P.  Jones. 

join  the  North  Georgia  Conference;  and  she  said:  'Look  here,  Mr, 
Jones,  when  I  married  you  I  married  a  lawyer,  and  I'll  never  be  an 
itinerant  Methodist  preacher's  wife  in  this  world,  never!  So,  if 
you  join  the  North  Georgia  Conference,  you'll  go  without  me.' 
'But,  wife,'  I  said,  'the  Lord  has  called  me  to  preach  the  gospel, 
and  he'll  remove  obstacles  from  my  way.'  'Well,'  said  she,  'He'll 
have  to  remove  me,  then.' 

"That  looked  pretty  hard,  now  didn't  it?  But  I  had  my  mind 
made  up;  I  did  not  have  any  trouble  about  that.  I  just  said,  I'll 
join  the  North  Georgia  Conference,  and  preach  in  it,  if  my  wife 
never  speaks  to  me  again.  I  thought  maybe  she'd  change  her 
mind;  but,  bless  your  life,  she  grew  firmer;  and  the  time  for  the 
conference  approached,  and  she  didn't  relent.  At  last,  the  night 
before  I  was  to-  leave  home  came,  my  wife  and  I  talked  long  and 
earnestly;  and  finally  she  said,  'Husband,  as  sure  as  you  take  the 
train  for  Atlanta  in  the  morning,  I'll  take  the  northbound  train  for 
my  father's.'  And  I  said,  'Wife,  my  mind  is  made  up,  and  I'll 
join  the  conference  and  preach  the  gospel  if  I  have  to  go  traveling 
about  all  over  the  country  a  grass  widower.' 

"Well,  I  was  a  good  while  getting  to  sleep  that  night,  but  I  went 
to  sleep  after  awhile ;  and  sometime  in  the  night  my  wife  called  me, 
and  she  was  suffering.  I  don't  know  what  was  the  matter  with 
her.  I  got  up  and  gave  her  something  and  she  got  better.  In  the 
morning  at  six  wife  waked  me,  standing  by  the  bed  with  the  lamp, 
and  said :  'Husband,  get  up  and  get  ready ;  train  will  soon  be  here.' 
And  I  looked  in  her  face  and  said :  'Wife,  what's  come  over  the 
spirit  of  your  dreams  ?  What  does  this  mean  ?'  She  said,  'Never 
mind,  you  get  up  and  get  ready,  and  I'll  tell  you  after  awhile.' 
At  breakfast  she  said :  'You  know  when  I  called  you  in  the  night  ? 
You  remember  I  said  that  if  the  Lord  made  you  an  itinerant  preach- 
er. He'd  have  to  remove  me;  well,  just  then  when  I  called  you  ,  I  was 
in  the  very  agonies  of  death,  and  I  just  cried  out,  'Lord,  save  my  life 
and  I'll  make  the  very  best  itinerant  preacher's  wife  I  can.'  And 
she's  done  it,  too ;  every  bit  of  it,  for  thirteen  years  now." 

In  making  preparation  for  the  examination  of  applicants  for 
membership  in  the  conference,  Mr.  Jones  pursued  the  course  of 


Sam  p.  Jones.  69 

study  prescribed  by  the  bishops  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  South.  Rev. 
Geo.  R.  Cramer  was  his  pastor  and  spiritual  instructor  at  that  time. 
He  assisted  him  very  much  in  preparing  for  the  examination. 

When  the  North  Georgia  Conference  convened  in  Atlanta  No- 
vember 27,  1872,  he  was  received  as  a  traveling  preacher.  He  gave 
himself  with  all  his  redeemed  powers  to  the  life  and  work  of  an 
itinerant  Methodist  preacher.  In  making  the  appointments  he  was 
put  down  for  the  Van  Wert  circuit.  This  was  the  poorest  circuit  in 
the  Conference.  While  there  were  wealthy  and  influential  churches 
assigned  to  many  of  the  distinguished  preachers,  who  went  away 
happy  because  of  their  appointments,  no  man  left  the  Conference 
happier  than  Mr.  Jones,  and  he  never  paused  long  enough  to  in- 
quire about  his  appointment.  He  was  one  of  the  happiest  men  that 
ever  received  a  circuit  at  the  hand  of  a  bishop.  His  heart  fairly 
leaped  for  joy,  and  he  shouted,  "Thank  God,  I  now  have  a  place  to 
work  for  Christ." 

Leaving  conference  for  his  home  in  Cartersville,  in  the  most  ex- 
uberant spirits,  a  good  old  brother  came  up  and  shook  hands  with 
him,  saying :  "Brother  Jones,  do  you  know  what  that  circuit  paid  its 
pastor  last  year?"  He  replied,  "No,  I  had  not  thought  of  that." 
"Well,"  said  he,  "it  paid  the  preacher  for  his  entire  year's  work 
sixty-five  dollars."  Mr.  Jones  laughed  and  said :  "I  don't  care  what 
they  paid  or  didn't  pay,  I  have  a  place  to  preach  now,  and  I  am  going 
to  it  happy." 

The  circuit  was  located  twenty-two  miles  from  our  home  in  Car- 
tersville. He  went  down  and  looked  over  the  field  before  taking 
his  family.  The  brethren  were  kind  in  a  way,  and  yet',  as  he  said, 
"Burns  was  right  when  he  wrote : 

'A  man  may  take  a  neighbor's  part 
Yet  have  no  cash  to  spare  him.'  " 

But  he  was  not  discouraged.  He  had  been  reared  in  a  Meth- 
odist home,  and  an  itinerant  preacher's  life  had  been  pictured  to  him 
as  one  of  hardships  and  privations.  There  was  no  parsonage,  and 
the  stewards  were  not  enthusiastic  over  renting  and  furnishing  a 
house  for  him  and  his  wife  and  child ;   and  finally  they  suggested  to 


CO  Sam  P.  Jones. 

him  a  house  that  might  be  rented,  but  said  nothing  about  paying  the 
rent,  or  becoming  responsible  for  it.  Instead  of  following  the  Meth- 
odist rule  to  arrange  for  the  preacher's  home,  they  would  not  be  re- 
sponsible for  it  in  any  way.  Many  a  minister  with  less  courage 
than  he  possessed  would  have  become  disheartened  and  gone  back 
to  his  profession,  but  instead  of  that  he  rented  a  house  and  gave  his 
individual  notes,  twelve  in  number,  each  one  amounting  to  ten  dol- 
lars, to  be  paid  monthly  for  the  rent  of  the  house  for  the  coming 
year.  The  rent  amounted  to  fifty-five  dollars  more  than  the  entire 
salary  received  by  the  preacher  the  previous  year.  Two  weeks  later 
he  moved  his  family  to  this  house,  in  the  town  of  old  Van  Wert. 
■  While  Mr.  Jones  had  a  good  law  library,  his  ministerial  libraiy 
was  very  small.  He  had  just  three  books  as  he  entered  upon  his  first 
appointment.  One  of  them  was  the  Bible — this  was  the  dearest  of 
them  all.  No  man  ever  loved  the  Old  Book  more  than  he.  In  one 
of  the  last  sermons  that  he  preached  he  placed  the  Bible  to  his 
heart  and  said : 

"  'This  precious  book  I'd  rather  own 

Than  all  the  golden  gems 
That  e'er  in  monarch's  coffers  shone, 

Or  on  their  diadems. 
And  were  the  seas  one  chrysolite, 

This  earth  a  golden  ball ; 
And  gems  were  all  the  stars  of  night. 

This  book  were  worth  them  all. 

"  'Ah,  no,  the  soul  ne'er  found  relief 

In  glittering  hoards  of  wealth ; 
Gems  dazzle  not  the  eye  of  grief. 

Gold  can  not  purchase  health. 
But  here  a  blessed  balm  appears. 

For  every  human  woe; 
And  they  that  seek  this  book  in  tears 

Their  tears  shall  cease  to  flow.' 


> 

O 

W 


Sam  p.  Jones.  61 

"Some  men  do  not  love  God's  Holy  Book,  and  all  that  they  care 
for  is  to  criticise  and  ridicule  its  precious  teachings ;  but,  oh,  I  love 
it,  and  I  want  you  all  to  love  it.  Yes,  I  do  love  it,  and  it  makes  my 
heart  fairly  shout  with  gladness  to  think  that  my  darling  mother 
loved  it,  too,  and  pressed  it  to  her  bosom,  saying : 

"  'Holy  Bible,  book  divine. 

Precious  treasure,  thou  art  mine.' 

"This  old  book  that  has  lain  on  your  table  all  your  lives ;  that  has 
been  in  your  pathway;  that  is  a  part  of  your  household,  is  filled 
with  the  wisdom  of  God.  Oh,  this  blessed  Book  and  its  blessed 
consolation." 

Another  was  the  fifth  volume  of  Spurgeon's  sermons.  This  he 
read  and  reread  until  his  soul  v/as  stirred  with  the  spirit  of  the  great 
English  preacher.  Pie  always  claimed  that  he  owed  much  to  that 
volume.  He  would  frequently  read  one  of  Spurgeon's  texts  and 
see  how  he  treated  it,  and  then  would  ask  how  he  should  treat  his. 

The  other  book  was  a  volume  of  Skeletons  of  Sermons.  Some 
one  is  always  ready  to  hand  such  a  volume  to  young  preachers. 
Some  young  preachers  have  been  able  to  use  the  skeletons,  but 
these  did  not  appeal  to  Mr.  Jones.  No  one  while  listening  to  him 
preach  would  believe  that  such  a  volume  had  made  much  impres- 
sion upon  his  mind.  Not  for  a  moment  did  he  ever  follow  such 
plans  in  his  sermonizing.  His  sermons  were  built  and  constructed 
very  much  like  his  mind.  He  spoke  out  of  the  fullness  of  his  intel- 
lect and  heart,  and  his  style  of  sermon  making  was  always  peculiar 
to  himself. 

Mr.  Jones  began  his  ministry  as  an  exhorter  in  his  grandfather's 
meetings,  and  some  of  his  sermons  for  the  first  few  years  of  his 
ministry  were  nothing  more  than  earnest  exhortations,  but  whether 
he  preached  or  exhorted,  he  was  always  in  earnest,  and  the  people 
were  profoundly  im.pressed  with  what  he  said.  He  firmly  believed 
that  poor  sermons  and  earnest  exhortations,  with  the  spirit  of  sym- 
pathy and  zeal  behind  them,  were  more  healthful  and  fruitful  than 
the  most  powerful  logic  and  finished  rhetoric  without  the  spirit  of 
earnestness.     He  said,  "Earnestness  can  not  be  feigned.     It  is  just 


62  Sam  P.  Jones. 

like  the  natural  and  healthful  glow  on  a  maiden's  cheek  compared  to 
the  artificial  coloring.  Earnestness  can  always  be  distinguished 
from  emotional  gush  or  bellowing  hurrahism.  Earnestness  is  a 
thing  of  the  eye  and  face  more  than  of  the  voice  or  the  words." 

Among  the  greatest  compliments  ever  paid  him,  and  one  of  those 
that  pleased  him  the  most,  was  that  when  people  would  say,  "Let ' 
us  go  and  hear  him;  he  is  in  earnest;  he  is  an  earnest  preacher," 

The  greatest  compliment,  and  the  one  that  he  appreciated  the 
most,  was  that  of  a  little  boy  on  his  first  circuit.  He  was  just 
finishing  up  the  year's  work,  and  was  getting  ready  to  gO'  tO'  con- 
ference. The  little  boy  said  to  his  father :  "I  want  Brother  Jones  to 
come  back  to  our  church.  I  can  understand  everything  that  he 
preaclies."  To  him  simplicity  and  earnestness  were  two  of  the  most 
commendable  elements  in  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  With  Mr.  Jones 
a  multitude  of  other  faults  would  be  overlooked  if  he  saw  the  min- 
ister was  plain  and  simple  in  his  preaching,  and  had  his  heart  in 
what  he  was  saying. 

With  him  the  earnestness  of  the  pulpit  was  born  of  his  experience 
of  conscious  pardon  and  complete  deliverance  from  sin.  The  gos- 
pel had  done  so  much  for  him  that  he  saw  what  it  could  do  for 
others,  and  led  him  to  press  the  gospel  claims  with  pleading  tones 
upon  the  consciences  of  those  who  heard  him.  There  are  many 
men  who  preach  the  truth,  but  they  lack  the  earnestness  which 
helped  to  give  his  messages  such  efficiency. 

At  the  time  of  his  entering  the  ministry  the  devil  had  not  only 
bankrupted  him  morally,  but  financially.  The  money  he  had  made 
in  the  practice  of  law  had  been  squandered  through  dissipation. 
Everything  that  he  had  in  Cartersville  that  would  bring  any  money 
he  sold  and  paid  his  debts  as  far  as  possible. 

In  speaking  of  those  trying  days  he  said :  "When  I  first  started  to 
preaching  I  had  a  wife  and  one  child,  a  bobtail  pony  and 
eight  dollars  in  cash.  [In  after-ye-ars,  when  urging  the  ministers 
to  tell  the  people  the  whole  truth,  regardless  of  who  it  hurt,  he  said : 
"Why,  what  can  they  do  to  you  Methodist  ministers,  anyway? 
Nothing  but  move  you,  and  it's  no  trouble  for  a  Methodist  preacher 
to  move.    All  he  has  to  do  is  to  pack  his  blacking-brush  and  call  his 


Sam  p.  Jones.  63 

dog."]  Besides  this,  I  was  several  hundred  dollars  in  debt.  I  worked 
on  as  hard  as  a  man  could,  my  good  wife  ever  at  my  side  helping 
me.  I  would  work  on  the  farm  when  I  was  not  preaching  and  make 
a  few  bales  of  cotton,  carry  them  to  town,  sell  them,  and  apply  the 
money  on  my  debts.  I  could  hear  people  say:  'Well,  I  like 
Jones,  but  somehow  he  don't  pay  his  debts,'  and  they  kept  at  me  in 
this  way  until  I  was  nearly  crazy.  During  all  this  time,  I  was  work- 
ing myself  to  death  almost,  and  paying  a  few  dollars  at  a  time  on 
what  I  owed,  until  at  last  I  paid  it  dollar  for  dollar.  How  the  un- 
kind and  uncharitable  remarks  did  sting  me  to  the  quick.  What- 
ever people  do,  they  ought  never  to  say  anything  bad  about  a  man 
when  he  is  trying  his  level  best  to  do  right.  My  wife's  health  was 
completely  broken  down  by  the  hard  work  of  those  years,  when  I 
was  struggling  to  get  a  foothold  in  the  world.  However,  I  paid  the 
last  dollar,  and  I  lived  to  see  the  day  when  I  endorsed  notes  for 
those  who  used  to  'cuss'  me  for  not  paying  my  debts,  and  when  they 
fell  down  on  me,  I  walked  up  and  paid  their  debts  like  a  little  man. 
The  meanest  men  in  this  world  are  those  old  money-sharks  who  get 
a  man  in  their  power,  push  him  to  the  wall,  and  then  squeeze  hira 
to  death." 

He  entered  upon  his  work  with  a  strong  faith  in  God  and  in  his 
people,  believing  that  if  he  would  do  his  duty  he  should  not  want 
any  good  thing.  He  made  his  first  round  of  the  circuit ;  returning 
home  he  was  very  much  pleased  with  the  prospect  and  the  progress 
of  his  work.  The  people  opened  their  eyes  when  they  heard  their 
new  preacher,  and  immediately  fell  in  love  with  him.  After  they 
thoroughly  understood  Mr.  Jones,  and  his  work  began  to  prosper, 
they  were  unusually  kind  to  me,  and  those  first  years  were  very 
blessed  ones  in  many  respects. 

The  congregations  increased  wherever  he  preached.  New  life  and 
zeal  entered  into  the  services,  and  the  old  circuit  took  on  new  life. 
The  churches  were  greatly  revived ;  the  backsliders  were  reclaimed 
and  sinners  converted  at  the  regular  services.  Finally,  great  re- 
vivals broke  out  all  over  the  charge,  and  each  church  was  visited  by 
a  gracious  awakening.  His  compensation  for  his  first  year  amount- 
ed to  seven  hundred  dollars;    six  hundred  and  thirty-five  dollars. 


64  Sam  P.  Jones. 

more  than  they  paid  the  previous  year.  They  requested  that  he  be 
returned  to  them,  and  he  spent  three  very  profitable  years  on  that 
circuit,  the  salary  for  the  three  years'  work  being  two  thousand  one 
hundred  dollars.  This  was  not  all  in  money,  but  a  great  deal  of  it 
was  in  corn,  wheat,  hay,  and  fodder.  Some  of  it  was  paid  in  meat, 
chickens,  eggs,  and  butter. 

In  his  early  ministry  he  was  thrown  with  his  people  a  great  deal, 
and  his  keen  insight  into  human  nature  and  his  close  observation 
of  every-day  life  revealed  a  great  many  shams  and  frauds  to  him. 
He  always  had  an  inborn,  constitutional  hatred  for  shams,  and  es- 
pecially religious  shams.  Life  and  truth  were  absolutely  real  to  him. 
Heaven  and  hell  were  realities,  and  he  didn't  see  how  a  man  could 
be  a  fraud  or  a  hypocrite  without  first  getting  out  of  line  with  God 
and  truth,  and  if  they  didn't  repent,  they  would  go  to  hell,  and  that 
the  devil  would  make  real  fiends  of  religious  frauds  before  he 
would  receive  them.  He  had  such  a  high  sense  of  honor  he  could 
not  help  from  having  intense  hatred  for  shams  and  pretense.  He 
was  compelled  to  strike  a  terrific  blow  which  would  reduce  them 
to  atoms. 

He  never  feared  higher  criticism  and  infidelity  in  a  theoretical 
sense,  but  was  afraid  of  practical  infidelity,  as  he  saw  it  lived  and 
practiced  by  his  church  members.  He  used  to  say  he  would  rather 
be  Bob  Ingersoll  and  disbelieve  the  Bible  than  to  be  a  professing 
Christian  believing  everything,  and  living  just  like  Ingersoll.  After 
he  thoroughly  understood  his  people,  he  was  seized  with  the  convic- 
tion that  there  was  either  two  kinds  of  Christianity,  or  else  the  ma- 
jority of  his  people  had  religion,  and  that  he  did  not  have  it,  or,  he 
had  it  and  they  didn't.  In  his  own  heart  since  God  saved  him,  there 
had  been  no  room  for  prayerlessness  and  indifference  towards  God's 
work,  yet  he  found  his  people  indifferent,  careless,  and  prayerless. 
These  were  perplexing  problems  to  him,  and  he  spent  hours  in 
prayer  and  meditation,  trying"  to  decide  his  duty  towards  his  people. 
The  struggle  that  was  going  on  in  his  heart  was  whether  he  should 
preach  to  his  people  just  as  he  thought  about  them.  Finally,  he  de- 
cided to  do  that,  and  with  a  miatchless  courage  he  talked  to  them 
about  their  inconsistencies.     His  courage  and  earnestness  gave  him 


Sam  p.  Jones.  65 

-wonderful  power  over  the  situation.  Mr.  Jones  not  only  had  the 
-courage  of  his  convictions,  but  he  had  the  courage  to  have  convic- 
tions. So  many  men  fail  to  have  the  courage  to  have  convictions. 
This  he  settled  once  for  all  while  studying  his  people.  It  was  no 
wonder  that  such  apostolic  results  followed  his  preaching  on  his 
first  circuit. 

Mr.  Jones's  style  of  preaching  on  his  first  circuit  was  character- 
istic of  his  preaching  until  the  day  of  his  death.  Some  of  his  great- 
est sermons  were  made  the  first  few  years  he  preached.  Perhaps, 
his  greatest  sermon  was  from  the  text,  "What  I  have  written,  I  have 
VvTitten."  John  19:22.  His  subject  being,  "Conscience,  Record, 
and  God."  While  he  gathered  a  great  many  new  illustrations  from 
his  travels  and  picked  up  incidents  in  his  meetings  that  took  the  place 
of  some  illustrations  of  those  earliest  sermons,  still,  the  outline  of 
the  sermon  was  changed  very  little.  He  always  had  results  from 
his  preaching.  Usually,  people  were  converted  and  joined  the 
church  in  great  numbers,  but  if  he  went  to  his  appointment  and  no 
one  was  converted  and  came  into  the  church  in  the  usual  way,  he 
decided  that  his  members  were  not  living  right,  as  he  believed 
conversions  would  follow  when  the  church  was  living  up  to  its 
privilege.  Therefore,  at  times,  instead  of  opening  the  "front  doors" 
of  the  church,  as  he  expressed  it,  he  would  open  the  "back  doors," 
and  ask  those  who  were  unwilling  to  live  up  to  the  rules  and  regula- 
tions of  the  church  to  come  forward,  and  have  their  names  erased 
from  the  roll,  and  retire  through  the  "back  doors"  of  the  church. 
This  unique  way  of  dealing  with  his  members  frequently  brought 
them  to  themselves,  and  resulted  in  their  consecration  and  future 
activity.  He  was  always  equal  to  the  emergency  from  the  very 
beginning  of  his  work  as  a  minister. 

His  support  at  times  was  irregular  on  his  first  circuit.  When  the 
stewards  failed  to  bring  around  the  quarterage,  and  the  provisions 
gave  out,  and  feed  for  his  horse  was  exhausted,  he  would  hitch  up 
"his  horse,  and  take  me  and  the  children  and  go  to  the  home  of  some 
of  our  m.embers  and  spend  a  day  with  them.  On  one  occasion  he 
went  to  the  home  of  a  leading  member,  and  sent  us  in  with  the  lady 
of  the  house,  v/hile  hitching  his  horse.    When  asked  if  the  head  of 


66  Sam  P.  Jones. 

the  family  was  at  home,  he  was  told  that  he  had  gone  away  for  the 
day,  and  perhaps  would  not  return  before  night.  "Well,"  replied 
Mr.  Jones,  "that's  all  right,  as  we  shall  spend  a  day  or  two  with  you ; 
he  will  return  before  we  leave,  and  we  will  get  to  see  him.  We  have 
decided  as  we  can  not  get  our  grub  raw,  that  we  will  take  it  cooked,, 
and  will  spend  some  time  at  your  home." 

At  another  time  when  the  provisions  had  been  exhausted,  and  I 
was  in  the  kitchen  wondering  where  our  next  meal  would  come 
from,  he  was  at  the  woodpile  chopping  the  stovewood,  and  whis- 
tling, and  when  I  went  out  on  the  back  porch  and  said,  "Husband, 
what's  the  use  of  cutting  the  wood  when  there  is  nothing  to  cook?" 
he  replied,  "Well,  wife,  the  Lord  will  provide."  It  wasn't  long  then 
until  a  wagon  stopped  in  front  of  the  parsonage  loaded  down  with 
provisions,  and  when  they  were  brought  in,  we  had  as  much,  if  not 
more,  than  our  home  had  ever  had  before.  His  .faith  in  God  to  sup- 
ply our  physical  necessaries  never  wavered  in  our  direst  poverty. 

On  his  first  circuit,  there  was  a  very  amusing  incident  hap- 
pened. One  of  our  wealthiest  members  was  taken  seriously  ill,  and 
thought  that  he  was  going  to  die.  He  sent  for  his  pastor  to  come 
around  and  pray  with  him.  Mr.  Jones  called  upon  him,  and  when 
entering  the  sick-chamber,  the  member  said,  "I  have  sent  for  you  to 
pray  for  me."  "Well,"  said  Mr.  Jones,  "I  don't  see  any  good  reason 
for  asking  the  Lord  to  heal  you.  If  you  can  tell  me  any  reason  why 
you  should  live,  I'll  pray  for  you ;  so  far  as  I  know,  you  have  never 
done  anything  for  the  Lord  that  I  can  stand  upon,  while  praying. 
You  have  paid  absolutely  nothing  to  the  assessments  of  the  church ; 
none  of  the  missionary  money  for  home  or  foreign  cause  has  been 
paid  by  you;  the  stewards  can't  get  anything  out  of  you  towards 
my  salary;  wife,  children  and  myself  have  needed  the  necessaries 
of  life,  and  my  horse  has  had  nothing  much  to  eat,  and  you  have  an 
abundance  of  everything  here  in  your  home,  and  feed  in  your  barn, 
and  could  have  helped  us;  therefore,  I  don't  see  anything  to  stand 
upon.  There  is  no  use  in  my  asking  God  to  restore  you ;  I  can  ask 
Him  to  forgive  and  save  you,  and  take  3^ou  to  heaven;  but,  there  is 
no  reason  why  I  should  ask  Him  to  preserve  your  life :  as  you  are 
absolutely  worthless  to  the  cause."    "Well,"  he  replied,  "you  are 


Sam  p.  Jones.  67 

right.  There  is  no  reason  why  I  should  Hve,  but  I  will  make  you  a 
promise  if  you  can  stand  upon  that."  "Very  well,"  replied  Mr.  Jones, 
''what  is  the  promise?"  He  said,  "I  will  see  that  my  assessment  is 
paid  in  full,  and  that  you  have  the  things  that  you  need  for  your  ta- 
ble and  horse."  Mr.  Jones  knelt  down  and  told  the  Lord  about  the 
man's  promise,  saying  in  his  prayer :  "Lord,  you  know  all  about  him ; 
he  may  deceive  me,  but  he  can't  deceive  you,  and  if  he  is  going  to 
change  his  way,  stand  by  your  work,  forgive  him,  heal  him,  and 
save  him."  It  wasn't  long  until  the  man  fully  recovered,  and  one 
day  a  wagon  turned  into  the  street  just  in  sight  of  the  parsonage. 
A  crowd  of  men  sitting  on  the  front  porch  of  the  store,  in  the  town, 
said:    "Whose  team  is  that?"     Some  one  answered,  "That's  Mr. 

;  he  is  sending  a  load  of  corn  to  the  parsonage."    Another 

one  remarked :    "Mr.  will  have  to  get  nearer  the  other 

world  than  he  was,  before  he  would  turn  loose  a  load  of  corn  to  the 
preacher."    A  colored  man  was  hailed  by  one  of  them,  who  asked : 

"Whose  team  is  that?"    The  old  negro  said :  "That's  Mr. ." 

"Where  is  that  load  of  corn  going?"    The  old  darkey  replied,  "To 

preacher  Jones."    "How  much  does  Mr. get  for  that  corn?" 

The  old  colored  man  said,  "Why,  God  bless  you,  boss,  Mr. 

has  done  give  that  corn  to  that  preacher." 

The  brother  had  paid  his  vow,  and  was  one  of  Mr.  Jones's  warm 
est  friends  and  supporters  during  his  stay  on  that  circuit. 

Perhaps  as  a  summary  of  the  results  of  those  years  on  his  first 
circuit,  and  the  general  impression  made  upon  every  one  has  been 
told  as  fully  by  a  minister  who  was  on  the  adjoining  circuit  and 
who  followed  Mr.  Jones  on  the  Van  Wert  circuit.  Rev.  J.  W.  Lee, 
D.D.,  now  pastor  of  Trinity  church,  Atlanta,  Ga.,  says : 

"The  first  circuit  to  which  I  was  sent  after  joining  the  conference 
in  the  fall  of  i"874  was  the  Floyd,  adjoining  the  Van  Wert.  During 
the  year  1875  I  saw  a  great  deal  of  Sam  Jones.  In  1876  I  succeeded 
him  on  the  Van  Wert  circuit,  and  there  I  heard  more  of  him  than  of 
any  preacher  I  have  ever  followed  since.  Every  one  had  something 
wonderful  to  relate  either  about  his  sermons  or  about  himself.  The 
Van  Wert  circuit  was  made  up  of  five  churches,  and  these  were  in 
parts  of  four  counties,  Polk,  Bartow,  Paulding  and  Floyd.     From 


68  Sam  P.  Jones. 

all  I  could  hear  this  entire  territory  was  in  a  state  of  constant  ex- 
citement throughout  the  three  years  Sam  Jones  served.  He  was 
just  as  bright  and  as  f.ull  of  life  then  as  he  was  afterward  known  by 
the  whole  country  to  be.  Think  of  Sam  Jones  confined  to  sections 
of  four  counties  with  fire  and  force  and  overfloAving  humor  enough 
to  fill  the  whole  United  States.  People  will  not  be  surprised,  when 
they  think  of  this,  that  his  ministry  was  the  theme  of  conversation  in 
every  home  in  my  circuit.  He  had  magnetized  everybody.  Bap- 
tists, Presbyterians,  as  well  as  Methodists,  grew  eloquent  when  they 
began  to  talk  about  Sam  Jones.  If  I  could  put  down  in  black  and 
v^^hite  all  I  heard  of  him  on  the  Van  Wert  circuit  in  1876,  the  record 
would  make  several  books.  He  touched  the  people  not  only  from 
the  pulpit,  from  the  home,  and  on  the  street,  but  wherever  he  met 
them.  Every  man,  woman,  and  child  was  made  the  subject  of  his 
humor.  He  saw  something  ridiculous  in  every  situation.  From 
the  time  he  entered  a  hom.e  until  he  left  it,  the  whole  house  was  kept 
in  an  uproar.  No  one  could  escape  the  lightning-flashes  of  his  kindly 
wit.  Even  the  old  grandmother  in  the  corner,  too  feeble  to  get 
about,  found  herself  laughing  at  herself,  as  Sam  Jones  pointed  out 
something  absurd  or  droll  in  the  connection  with  her  attempt  to 
look  younger  than  she  really  was  or  something  else  about  herself 
she  had  never  heard  of  or  dreamed  of  before.  The  head  of  the 
house  was  represented  before  his  wife  and  children  in  a  way  to 
make  the  whole  famil}^  shake  with  laughter.  Then,  after  he  had 
paid  his  respects  to  the  father,  he  would  take  the  mother  as  a  sub- 
ject, and  then  one  child  after  another  clear  down  to  the  baby  in  arms. 
All  this  running  fire  of  fun  was  continued  in  the  midst  of  cross- 
turns  about  duty  to  God,  and  religion,  that  made  every  member  of 
the  household  cry  when  he  was  not  almost  splitting  his  sides  with 
laughter." 

It  is  very  evident  from  the  words  of  Dr.  Eee  that  ]\Ir.  Jones  pos- 
sessed in  the  beginning'  of  his  ministry  the  peculiarities  and  qualities 
that  were  developed,  in  the  highest  sense,  the  longer  he  lived,  mak- 
ing him  the  most  unique  and  m.arvelous  evangelist  that  the  world 
has  ever  known.  He  began  to  be  the  talk  of  the  ministiy.  and  there 
was  no  little  jealousy  aroused  in  the  hearts  of  some  of  his  brother 
ministers. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  69* 

However,  he  went  about  his  own  business  and  was  always  too- 
magnanimous  to  entertain  an  envious  or  jealous  thought  of  a  brother 
minister,  but  the  good  and  faithful  preachers  detected  this  in  others, 
and  one  of  them  under  the  title  of  "A  Glaring  Fault  of  Good  ]\Ien"" 
wrote  the  following  letter  to  the  Advocate  regarding  i^\Iethodist 
preachers.  ]\Ir.  Jones  is  referred  to  in  the  letter  as  "Brother  A.,"' 
"who  gave  us  a  fine  sermon,  but  borrowed  it  from  Spurgeon"  : 

"Four  years  of  intimate  association  with  itinerant  JMethodist 
preachers  have  convinced  me  that  for  sociability,  brotherly  kindness, 
and  true  manhood,  to  say  nothing  of  the  deep  piety,  earnest  lives 
and  faithful  work,  which  make  many  of  them  moral  heroes — -in- 
deed, they  have  no  superiors  on  earth ;  yet  som.e  of  us  are  possessed 
of  an  unhappy  disposition,  the  moral  aspect  of  which  is  bad  enough. 
A  disposition  to  criticise  each  other  unjustly. 

"At  a  camp-meeting  where  many  preachers  were  present  and  did 
faithful  work  for  the  Master,  j\Ir.  Jones  was  complimented  more 
highly  than  the  others.  At  the  close  of  the  meeting  the  brethren 
went  to  the  railroad  station,  and  there  discussed  the  success  of  the 
m.eeting  and  the  merits  of  the  sermons  preached.  One  said :  "We 
had  some  good  preaching.  Brother  A."  (referring  to  Mr.  Jones) 
"gave  us  a  fine  sermon,  but  he  borrowed  from  Spurgeon." 

From  his  earliest  ministry  he  ahvays,  to  a  certain  extent,  aroused 
the  jealousies  of  some  of  his  brother  ministers,  and  encountered  op- 
position wherever  he  went.  I  never  saw  him,  a  single  moment,  when 
he  was  jealous  of  another  man's  success;  but  it  always  rejoiced  his 
heart  to  see  a  brother  minister  succeed.  He  believed  that  it  was  a 
sure  test  of  a  man's  sincerity  and  religion  to  be  able  to  rejoice  at 
the  prosperity  of  the  Lord's  work  in  the  hands  of  another.  He  so 
frequently  said :  "If  the  Presbyterians  have  a  good  meeting,  the 
Baptists  will  attend,  take  a  back  seat,  look  on,  and  reply,  'The  thing 
is  too  stiff,  formal,  and  cold.  The  people  are  not  being  converted 
— merely  joining  the  church.'  The  Presbyterians  attend  a  meeting 
conducted  by  the  i\Iethodists,  and  you  ask  them  if  the  Methodists 
haven't  a  big  meeting  going  on ;  they  answer,  'Well,  they  are  m.ak- 
ing  a  great  deal  of  fuss  around  there — it's  all  excitenient,  however, 
and  soon  will  blow  over — very  little  in  it ;    however,  they've  got 


70  Sam  P.  Joni;S. 

quite  a  stir  among  them.'  Then  the  Methodists  would  attend  a  re- 
vival at  the  Baptist  church,  go  late  and  take  no  part,  and,  when  the 
people  were  converted,  you  ask  a  Methodist  if  the  Baptists  weren't 
having  a  big  meeting,  and  he  would  reply,  'Well,  it's  mostly  water 
— just  talking  water,  water.'  So  you  see,"  he  would  say,  "it  takes 
a  lot  of  religion  for  a  fellow  to  shout  at  another  preacher's  meeting." 
His  soul  was  so  free  from  such  petty  jealousy  that  he  couldn't  under- 
stand it  in  other  people.  However,  he  never  bore  any  ill  will  to- 
wards those  that  were  envious  and  jealous  of  him,  but  was  always 
willing  to  befriend  them  and  help  them  in  any  way. 

Mr.  Jones  completed  the  course  of  study  and  was  admitted  into 
full  connection,  and  elected  a  deacon  in  December,  1874,  at  the  an- 
nual conference,  which  met  at  our  town,  Cartersville.  Bishop  M. 
Wightman  ordained  him  to  this  office. 

The  first  three  years  in  the  ministry  spent  on  the  Van  Wert  cir- 
cuit were  among  the  most  successful  years  of  his  life.  While  they 
did  not  afford  the  larger  opportunities  of  later  years,  nevertheless, 
the  work  accomplished  there  was  marvelous  in  its  scope.  They 
were,  indeed,  strenuous  years,  as  he  preached  almost  constantly, 
and  must  have  delivered  on  an  average  of  four  hundred  sermons  a 
year.  They  were  gracious  years,  in  that  he  saw  wonderful  revivals, 
great  increase  in  church  membership,  and  the  family  altar  erected 
in  the  homes  of  many  of  his  leading  members.  Perhaps,  the  aggre- 
gate increase  of  membership  on  the  circuit  was  not  less  than  two 
hundred  accessions  each  year,  making  in  all  five  or  six  hundred 
people  who  joined  the  churches  on  his  first  circuit.  The  friendship 
formed  and  the  mutual  love  of  the  pastor  and  people  became  strong- 
er as  the  years  went  by,  and  some  of  his  warmest  and  staunchest 
friends  are  those  who  survive  him  on  that  circuit.  The  devotion 
of  the  people  to  their  pastor  was  something  remarkable,  and  Mr. 
Jones's  great  interest  and  love  for  them  increased  year  by  year.  He 
was  of  such  a  genial  and  social  nature  that  he  made  friends  wherever 
he  went,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  this  people  loved  him  with  a  de- 
votion as  I  have  never  known  other  men  to  be  loved.  These  were 
three  years  of  work  and  happiness  and  blessings  in  our  own  lives. 
He  not  only  blessed  others,  but  in  turn  we  received  great  personal 


Sam  p.  Jonks.  71. 

blessings  ourselves.  It  was  during  the  first  year  on  the  Van  Wert 
circuit,  that  I,  without  even  a  sohcitation  from  my  husband,  made  up 
my  mind  to  go  into  his  church  with  him,  I  having  been  a  member 
of  the  Baptist  church.  This  was  a  glad  surprise  for  him,  but  1 
have  always  felt  that  it  was  a  source  of  strength.  Some  of  the 
happiest  days  of  my  life  were  spent  with  those  noble  people,  and 
the  memory  of  them  will  ever  be  sweet. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Othe;r  Pastorates  and  Revivai^s. 

From  the  Van  Wert  circuit  Mr.  Jones  was  moved  to  the  DeSoto 
circuit  in  Floyd  county.  There  were  nine  churches  on  this  work. 
While  Mr.  Jones  had  preached  in  a  straightforward  way  on  his  pre- 
vious circuit,  it  was  on  the  DeSoto  mission  that  he  began  to  preach 
his  convictions  with  all  the  strength  of  his  mind  and  heart.  In 
speaking  of  the  change,  he  said :  "There  is  difference  between 
-preaching  the  truth  and  applying  it  to  the  hearers.  A  dissertation 
on  mustard,  where  it  grows,  how  it  grows,  and  how  it  is  prepared 
for  market  is  one  thing,  but  that  one  thing  does  not  help  the  colic. 
It  is  when  you  spread  the  miustard  on  a  thin  cloth  and  apply  it  to 
the  stomach  that  the  aches  and  pains  of  the  agonizing  patient  are  re- 
lieved. Abstract  truth  has  influenced  the  mind  to  some  extent,  but 
it's  the  consecrated  truth  vigorously  applied  to  the  conscience  that 
arouses  the  mind  and  produces  the  conviction  which  brings  re- 
sults." On  this  circuit  by  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit  he  sought  as 
never  before  to  get  the  truths  applied  to  the  consciences  of  his  hear- 
ers. As  he  said,  "The  more  conscience  that  I  awake,  the  more  peo- 
ple v/ill  be  converted;  as  you  know  it  is  the  shoemaker  who  gives 
the  best  fit  that  has  the  most  customers."  He  believed  then  that 
the  people  knew  better  than  they  did.  He. did  not  try  to  point  out 
new  paths  of  truth,  but  sought  to  inspire  them  to  walk  in  the  old 
ones.  From  that  day  his  preaching  was  directed  at  the  conscience. 
Soon  his  official  board  and  church  members  were  greatly  agitated 
as  to  what  the  final  outcome  would  be,  but  he  continued  his  sermons 
at  their  sins,  saying:  "The  consciences  of  men  form  a  vast  plane 
without  an  undulation  from  shore  to  shore,  and  he  who  preaches  on 
a  level  like  this  will  move,  not  only  the  common  people,  but  the  edu- 
cated and  intellectual  alike.     The  conscience  of  Daniel  Webster  is 

(72) 


Sam  p.  Jonds.  T3^ 

on  the  same  plane  with  the  conscience  of  a  farmer."  This  direct, 
pointed  preaching  soon  resulted  in  the  conversions  of  hundreds  of 
people,  and  the  quickening  of  every  church  on  his  circuit.  While 
the  official  boards  cried  out  against  the  change,  however,  admitting 
that  he  was  right,  still  they  argued  that  he  had  a  wife  and  children^ 
that  m.ust  be  supported,  and  that  the  people  would  not  pay  their  as- 
sessments if  he  did  not  change  his  way  of  preaching.  He  replied 
that  he  could  not,  and  would  not  stifle  his  conviction  for  any  finan- 
cial consideration,  or  prospect  for  future  promotion,  but  that  he 
would  preach  the  truth  as  he  believed  it,  if  the  whole  world  turned 
against  him.  I  remonstrated  with  him,  telling  him  that  he  could  be 
successful  to  a  marked  degree  without  such  pointed  preaching,  and 
furthermore,  I  said,  "Husband,  we  have  to  live  by  the  ministry,  and 
the  people  will  not  support  you  if  you  continue  to  preach  as  you  do." 
He  turned  to  me  with  a  loving  smile,  and  said :  "Well,  wife,  if  they 
do  not  pay  us,  and  we  starve  to  death,  we  will  never  tell  them  what 
killed  us,  but  will  just  say  that  we  died  with  typhoid  fever." 

A  year  afterward  at  a  district  conference,  Mr.  Jones  referred  to 
the  experiences  of  this  time.  It  was  while  going  through  this  great 
change  that  he  was  in  the  crucible  in  which  he  was  tested.  The 
refining  fire  had  burned  away  all  the  self  and  had  left  the  "vessels 
meet  for  the  Master's  use."  Standing  up  before  the  conference,. 
when  his  circuit  was  called,  in  its  order,  for  reports  from  the  pastor, 
he  told  how  he  had  gone  to  this  charge  where  drinking,  gambling 
and  profanity  were  holding  high  carnival,  and  how  indifferent,  cold 
and  sinful  his  members  were,  and  that  there  was  no  interest  mani- 
fested in  religion,  and  that  they  wanted  "women  and  children's  re- 
ligion," and  the  male  members  would  support  him  if  he  would  just 
let  them  alone,  but  he  saw  that  his  conviction  of  duty  would  not  per- 
mit him  to  yield  to  them,  he  said :  "I  preached  against  the  sins  of 
those  people  as  I  knew  them  to  exist.  I  warned  them  of  the  dangers 
as  I  saw  the  dangers ;  I  called  many  sins  by  their  right  names,  and 
told  them  they  were  guilty  of  those  sins.  With  all  my  ransomed  pow- 
ers I  denounced  their  unholy  living.  But  it  seemed,  brethren,  that  the 
combined  powers  of  darkness  had  conspired  to  overthrow  me.  For 
weeks  I  preached,  talked  and  exhorted,  without  a  sign  of  hope.     At 


74  Sam  P.  Jones. 

last,  they  began  to  desert  me  and  refuse  to  support  me.  Finally,  it 
came  to  the  point  of  almost  hunger  in  my  home.  One  man,  alone, 
stood  by  me.  He  was  poor,  but  he  was,  and  is,  a  hero.  Going  home 
one  evening  from  my  work,  my  wife  said:  'Well,  Sam,  it  seems 
like  these  people  want  to  starve  us  out.'  Brethren,  it  was  surrender 
or  starve,  it  semed  to  me.  I  walked  out  into  the  darkness.  I  went 
to  the  stable.  My  faithful  old  horse  whinnied  a  welcome,  and  I  went 
in,  and,  in  that  stable,  I  fell  on  my  face  before  God  and  prayed  for 
for  light,  for  help,  for  direction.  The  answer  came,  'Go  forward!' 
I  did.  I  went  to  my  next  appointment  and  announced  protracted 
services.  Single-handed,  and  alone,  I  went  into  my  work,  led  by 
the  Spirit,  I  assailed  the  strongholds  of  sin  among  my  people ;  I  told 
them  of  their  lost  estate,  and  begged  them  to  return.  From  the  first 
service,  the  congregation  grew  larger.  The  unconverted  and  the 
backslider  came  together,  and  soon  they  were  seeking  pardon  to- 
gether at  the  altar.  The  Holy  Spirit  was  at  work.  One  by  one  the 
last  were  redeemed,  and,  finally,  as  with  a  great  awakening  light, 
God's  power  came  down.  Old  DeSoto  circuit  was  ablaze  of  glory 
throughout  its  bounds,  and  one  hundred  family  altars  were  burning, 
v/here  not  one  burned  before."  Mr.  Jones  sat  down.  Some  brother 
started  the  grand  old  song,  "How  firm  a  foundation.  Ye  saints  of 
the  Lord,"  which  was  taken  up  by  the  conference  and  sung  amid  the 
shouts  and  hallelujahs  of  God's  people.  The  business  of  the  con- 
ference was  entirely  side-tracked  and  a  glorious  wave  of  blessing 
swept  over  the  people. 

After  the  great  work  on  this  circuit  the  people  were  willing  to 
attend  upon  all  the  services  of  the  church,  so  he  made  a  request  of 
them  regarding  the  prayer-meeting.  Said  he :  "I  want  you  to 
promise  me  to  attend  the  Wednesday  evening  prayer  services,  and  if 
you  don't  come,  to  send  me  an  excuse  explaining  why  you  were  not 
there,  and  I  will  visit  you  and  bring  a  doctor  and  look  after  the  pa- 
tient." A  great  many  of  his  most  reliable  members  made  the  prom- 
ise.   Then  it  was  that  they  had  a  pretty  good  joke  on  the  pastor. 

One  night  there  was  a  fearful  rain,  and  the  wind  was  blowing 
hard.  Mr.  Jones  said :  "I  won't  go  to  prayer-meeting  to-night ;  no 
one  will  be  at  church  this  evening."     We  got  comfortably  seated 


Sam  p.  Jones.  75 

around  the  fireside,  and  were  reading  and  talking,  when  there  was  a 
knock  at  the  door.  Mr.  Jones  opened  the  door,  and  the  porch  was 
crowded  with  people.  "What  in  the  world  does  this  mean?"  in- 
quired Mr.  Jones.  They  answered :  "We  have  come  to  see  what's 
the  matter  with  our  pastor.  We  have  been  to  prayer-meeting,  and 
as  he  didn't  come,  we  brought  a  doctor  to  look  after  the  patient." 
Mr.  Jones  took  the  reproof  good-naturedly,  and  the  prayer-meeting 
was  conducted  that  night. 

A  letter  that  Mr.  Jones  wrote  to  the  Southern  Christian  Advocate 
from  this  circuit  shows  how  deeply  interested  he  was  in  all  of  the 
work  of  the  church : 

"Mr.  Editor  :  The  Rome  circuit  has  nine  appointments,  includ- 
ing DeSoto  mission.  We  began  this  year  with  three  hundred  mem- 
bers, the  circuit  very  much  'run  down,'  as  ^lie  brethren  expressed 
it,  and  its  history  for  the  past  ten  years  fully  justifies  the  expression. 

"In  the  early  part  of  the  year  I  tried  to  persuade  every  member  of 
the  church  to  be  punctual  upon  the  attendance  of  worship,  and  every 
head  of  a  family  to  subscribe  for  the  Southern  Christian  Advocate. 
I  succeeded  well  in  my  first  proposition,  but  received  only  about 
twenty-five  subscribers  to  the  Advocate  (several  were  taking  it). 
I  wish  more  of  the  Rome  district  would  subscribe  for  the  Advocate; 
if  so,  the  itinerant's  pay  would  not  be  so  slim.  I  never  knew  a  Meth- 
odist to  take  and  read  the  Advocate  who  did  not  pay  his  quarterage 
liberally. 

"I  encourage  my  brethren  to  work,  labor  in  the  church,  at  home, 
in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  everywhere.  The  more  I  can  get  them 
to  do,  the  lighter  my  labors  are.  Moody  never  told  a  'bigger'  truth 
than  when  he  said,  'The  successful  preacher  is  he  who  can  get  the 
most  work  out  of  his  members.' 

"We  have  had  good  Sunday-schools  all  the  year,  prayer-meetings, 
class-meetings,  etc.  The  first  of  August  we  began  our  protracted 
meetings,  and  for  ten  weeks  we  have  had  glorious  old-fashioned  re- 
vivals. Every  church  has  been  blessed,  and  our  membership  has 
been  increased  to  near  five  hundred.  The  work  was  genuine,  and 
manifests  itself  in  eveiy  father  praying  in  his  family  (not  ten  heads 
of  families  excepted  on  the  whole  work),  reading  the  Scriptures, 


"76  Sam  P.  Jones. 

secret  prayer,  building  new  churches,  ceihng,  painting  and  putting 
stoves  in  old  ones,  etc. 

"Our  missionary  assessments,  foreign  and  domestic,  were  paid 
by  the  first  of  May,  in  full.  Our  conference  collection  will  exceed 
the  assessment.  The  pastor  and  presiding  elder  will  go  to  confer- 
ence without  any  claims  against  DeSoto  circuit.  All  seem  to  be 
hopeful,  buoyant  and  happy. 

"In  conclusion,  I  will  say  that  much  more  good  might  have  been 
accomplished  if  we  had  fewer  appointments.  Nine  churches  for 
one  preacher,  like  forty  acres  for  one  mule  and  man,  will  necessarily 
give  the  grass  some  chance  to  grow. 

"May  I  live  and  die  among  a  people  who  love  Jesus,  then  will  it 
be  well  with  me  here.  And  may  God  give  us  all  a  home  in  heaven, 
where  'no  ox  is  ever  muzzled'  and  where  the  weary  are  at  rest." 

At  the  close  of  the  conference  year  of  1876,  he  was  elected  an 
elder,  and  Bishop  George  F.  Pierce  ordained  him. 

It  was  on  this  circuit  that  he  came  in  contact  with  that  unique 
preacher.  Rev.  Simon  Peter  Richardson,  who  was  his  presiding 
elder.  He  was,  at  that  time,  the  most  powerful  preacher,  and  at  all 
timics  the  most  entertaining  man  that  Mr.  Jones  ever  met.  He 
would  throw  out  great  nuggets  of  truth  in  pulpit  and  parlor  that 
were  food  to  Mr.  Jones.  He  saw  the  great  truths  of  the  Bible  more 
t()  Air.  Jones's  idea  than  any  man  he  ever  heard  preach.  He  was  a 
father,  brother  and  teacher  to  him.  He  received  more  help  from 
him  than  all  other  preachers  he  ever  came  in  contact  with.  It  was 
from  him  that  Mr.  Jones  learned  that  the  pulpit  was  not  a  prison, 
but  a  throne ;  that  instead  of  bars  and  walls  for  the  boundary  lines 
he  might  have  wings  and  space  as  an  inheritance.  Mr.  Jones  said 
that  he  remembered  as  well  when  his  involuntary  confinement  ended, 
and  liberty  began,  as  any  fact  in  his  history,  and.  afterwards,  he  en- 
joyed the  liberty,  and  never  consulted  the  theological  landmarks  or 
visited  the  orthodox  prisons  again.  The  two  years  on  the  DeSoto 
circuit  strengthened  his  conviction  as  to  preaching,  and  he  followed 
his  convictions  from  that  day,  and  never  deviated  from  them  a  hair's 
breadth  in  after-years.  We  had  some  friends  at  that  difficult  time 
of  our  lives  who  were  a  tower  of  strength  to  him,  and  I  may  say,  a 


REV.  SIMON  PETER  RICHARDSON, 
His  unique  and  faithful  Presiding  Elder. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  77 

wall  of  defense  in  a  time  of  need.  Mr.  Jones  never  forgot  them. 
The  preacher  stationed  at  the  First  church  in  Rome,  Rev.  W.  H. 
LaPrade,  and  our  presiding  elder,  Rev.  Simon  Peter  Richardson, 
just  the  man,  through  God,  to  lead  and  guide  Mr.  Jones,  helping  him 
shape  his  future  life  by  constantly  encouraging  him. 

From  this  work  he  was  moved  to  the  Newberne  circuit  in  Newton 
county,  Georgia.  There  he  spent  two  very  pleasant  and  successful 
years.  He  was  more  successful  in  building  up  his  churches,  and  in 
converting  the  unsaved  than  any  years  of  his  pastoral  life.  This 
circuit  had  four  churches,  and  it  was  possible  for  him  to  devote  more 
time  to  them.  One  of  the  most  striking  incidents  on  that  circuit 
happened  at  a  country  place  where  the  unconverted  people  wanted 
preaching.  It  was  somewhat  of  a  fifth  wheel  to  his  circuit.  He 
found  only  four  members  there ;  a  gentleman  and  his  daughter,  and 
a  lady  and  her  son,  constituted  the  church.  He  began  to  inquire 
who  lived  in  that  neighborhood,  saying  that  he  would  have  to  have 
;a  quorum  before  he  could  get  down  to  business.  On  Saturday  be- 
fore the  fifth  Sunday  in  March  he  went  to  the  home  of  one  of  the 
best  farmers,  who  was  a  graduate  of  Emory  College.  His  name 
was  Gaither.  Finding  that  he  was  not  a  member  of  any  church,  he 
.said  to  him :  "1  haven't  enough  members  in  my  little  church  to  work 
with,  and  I  want  you  to  join  to-morrow."  Mr.  Gaither  replied,  "I 
can't  join  the  church.  I  always  said  I  never  would  until  I  got  re- 
ligion." Mr.  Jones  said,  "Would  you  know  religion  if  you  were  to 
see  it  coming  down  the  road"  He  laughed  and  said,  "I  suppose  not. 
I  swear,  and  drink  sometimes,  and  I  am  not  going  to  join  the 
church  and  do  like  others  have  done."  Mr.  Jones  said,  "The  very 
fact  that  you  swear  and  drink  is  the  reason  that  I  want  you  to  join 
the  church ;  you  have  sense  and  honor,  and  if  you  connect  yourself 
with  the  church,  you  will  quit  cussing  and  drinking."  His  wife  was 
a  good,  charitable  woman,  and  read  her  Bible  carefully  and  attended 
upon  service  regularly.  Mr.  Jones  turned  to  her  and  said,  "I  want 
you  to  join  the  church  with  your  husband."  She  replied,  "I  will 
never  join  the  church  until  I  am  converted."  He  had  a  hard  time 
Vy-ith  this  man  and  his  wife,  and  decided  he  had  struck  two  of  the 
liardest  cases  he  had  ever  encountered.    He  went  to  the  church  and 


78  Sam  P.  Jones. 

preached,  and  at  dose  of  the  sermon  he  opened  the  doors  of  the 
church,  and  they  walked  up  and  joined,  with  eleven  others.  Mr, 
Jones  went  back  there  on  the  fifth  Sunday  in  July,  to  hold  a  three 
days'  meeting.  We  spent  Saturday  night  at  his  home,  and  his  wife 
and  I  and  little  child  drove  to  the  church  that  night  while  Mr.  Jones 
and  he  walked  over  the  field  to  the  church.  It  was  a  beautiful  night, 
and  the  moon  was  shining  brightly.  One  of  the  men  who  had  joined 
the  church  with  Mr.  Gaither  was  his  brother-in-law.  Watt  Griffin, 
Mr.  Jones  turned  to  his  host  and  said,  speaking  of  this  brother, 
"How  is  old  Watt?"  He  replied,  "He  is  doing  his  whole  duty." 
Mr.  Jones  realizing  that  such  a  man  would  have  to  be  constant  in  his 
religious  life  to  succeed,  said,  "He  couldn't  be  religious  if  he  didn't.'^ 
Whereupon  Mr.  Gaither  remarked,  "Can  any  man  be  religious  who 
doesn't  do  his  whole  duty?"  Mr.  Jones  said,  "Well,  I  suppose  not." 
Said  Gaither,  "I  joined  the  church  three  months  ago  when  you  were 
here,  and  I  haven't  got  any  more  religion  (pointing  toward  us)  than 
that  old  horse  that  is  pulling  our  wives  to  the  church.  I  haven't 
sworn  or  drank  any,  but  I  haven't  done  my  duty,  and  I  am  willing  to 
go  to  work  if  that  will  bring  religion  to  me,  so  if  you  want  me  as 
a  Sunday-school  superintendent,  appoint  me;  if  you  want  to  make 
a  class-leader  or  a  steward  out  of  me,  I  will  do  my  best.  If  you 
want  me  to  pray,  call  on  me — "  then  suddenly  he  exclaimed,  "Glory 
to  God,  I've  got  it  now,  I've  got  it  now !"  and  out  there  in  the  open 
field,  with  his  mind  made  up  to  serve  God,  the  Lord  graciously  saved 
him.  He  was  always  one  of  the  most  godly  and  influential  mem- 
bers at  that  little  church. 

It  was  while  on  this  circuit  that  he  began  to  get  invitiations  ask- 
ing him  to  assist  pastors  in  their  revival  work.  He  visited  a  great 
many  of  the  small  towns  within  the  bounds  of  adjoining  circuits, 
where  there  were  many  great  and  glorious  revivals.  One  of  them 
was  at  Thomson,  Ga.  His  appearance  in  that  town  was  so  unlike 
the  ministry  of  any  one  else  that  it  was  refreshing  to  both  saint  and 
sinner.  The  Honorable  Tom  Watson  was  a  young  lawyer  in  the 
town,  and  in  after  years  he  wrote  his  impressions  of  Mr.  Jones  and 
the  revival. 

"In  the  good  year  1877,  Sam  Jones  lit  down  in  this  veritable  town 


Sam  p.  Jones.  79 

of  Thomson,  and  began  to  go  for  the  devil  and  his  angels  in  a  man- 
ner which  was  entirely  new  to  said  devil ;  also  new  to  said  angels. 

"Some  one  happened  to  remark  in  my  hearing  that  there  was  a 
little  preacher  np  at  the  Methodist  church  who  was  knocking  the 
crockery  around  in  a  lively  style,  and  who  was  dusting  the  jackets 
of  the  amen  corner  brethren,  in  a  way  which  brought  the  double 
grunts  out  of  those  fuzzy  fossils. 

"I  was  not  ravenously  fond  of  sermons.  When  I  have  heard  the 
same  commonplaces  droned  out  in  the  same  lifeless  manner,  it 
requires  politeness  to  keep  down  yawns  and  nods.  I  did  not  yawn 
the  day  I  went  to  hear  Sam  Jones. 

"There  he  was,  clad  in  a  little  black  jump-tail  coat,  and  looking 
very  little  like  the  regulation  preacher.  He  was  not  in  the  pulpit. 
He  was  right  next  to  his  crowd,  standing  within  the  railings,  and 
almost  in  touch  of  the  victims.  His  head  was  down,  as  if  he  was 
holding  on  to  his  chain  of  thought  by  the  teeth,  but  his  right  hand 
was  going  energetically  up  and  down,  with  all  the  grace  of  a  pump- 
handle.  And,  how  he  did  hammer  the  brethren.  How  he  did  peel 
the  amen  corner.  How  he  did  smash  their  solemn  self-conceit,  their 
profound  self-satisfaction,  their  peaceful  compartnership  with  the 
Almighty,  their  placid  conviction  that  they  were  the  trustees  of  the 
New  Jerusalem !  After  awhile,  with  solemn,  irresistible  force  he 
called  on  these  brethren  to  rise  in  public,  confess  their  shortcomings, 
and  kneel  for  Divine  grace. 

"And  they  knelt.  With  groans,  and  sobs,  and  tears,  these  old 
bellwethers  of  the  flock  fell  on  their  knees  and  cried  aloud  in  their 
distress?  Then  what?  He  turned  his  guns  upon  us  sinners.  He 
raked  us  fore  and  aft.  He  gave  us  grape  and  canister  and  all  the 
rest.  He  abused  us  and  ridiculed  us ;  he  stormed  at  us  and  laughed 
at  us ;  he  called  us  flop-eared  hounds,  beer  kegs,  and  whisky  soaks. 
He  plainly  said  that  we  were  all  hypocrites  and  liars,  and  he  inti- 
mated, somewhat  broadly,  that  most  of  us  would  steal. 

"Oh,  we  had  a  time  of  it,  I  assure  you.  For  six  weeks  the  farms 
and  the  stores  were  neglected,  and  Jones !  Jones !  Jones !  was  the 
v/hole  thing. 

"And  the  pleasantest  feature  of  the  entire  display  of  human  nature 


iiO  Sam  P.  Jones. 

was  the  marked  manner  in  which  the    'amen-corner  brethren'    en- 
joyed his  flaying  of  us  sinners. 

"Well,  the  meeting  wound  up,  the  community  settled  back  into  its 
old  ways — but  it  has  never  been  the  same  community  since.  Gam- 
bling disappeared,  loud  profanity  on  the  streets  was  heard  no  more, 
and  the  barrooms  were  run  out  of  the  county." 


CHAPTER  VII. 


Eari,y  Evangei^istic  Work  and  Last  Pastorate. 

There  were  quite  a  number  of  towns  with  a  population  from  one 
thousand  to  twenty-five  hundred  where  Mr.  Jones  held  meetings 
while  on  this  circuit.  He  was  at  Madison,  Crooked  Creek,  Central 
and  other  points.  Perhaps  the  greatest  one  was  at  Eatonton.  The 
pastor  had  been  preaching  faithfully  against  the  saloons  of  the  town, 
which  had  almost  resulted  in  a  division  of  the  church.  Mr.  Jones, 
took  up  the  fight,  and  one  of  the  most  man^elo'us  results  of  the  meet- 
ing was  the  closing  up  of  the  barrooms  of  Eatonton  without  an  elec- 
tion. It  was  done  with  a  petition  to  the  county  commissioners,  large- 
ly signed  by  the  citizens  of  Putnam  county,  requesting  that  the  li- 
cense for  saloons  be  raised  to  three  thousand  dollars.  This  the  com^- 
missioners  did  and  closed  all  the  saloons,  except  one.  At  the  end  of 
seven  months  the  owner  of  this  saloon  proposed  to  close  at  the  end 
of  the  eighth  month  if  the  people  would  pay  him  the  one  thousand 
dollars  back  that  he  had  paid  license  for  four  months.  The  sub- 
scription list  was  opened  at  once  and  the  one  thousand  dollars  would 
have  been  raised  in  a  half  day,  but  the  word  that  the  saloon  would 
close  if  the  money  was  restored  reached  the  county  commissioners, 
who  promptly  notified  the  owner  of  the  saloon  that  if  he  would  sur- 
render his  license  they  would  pay  the  one  thousand  dollars  he  had 
paid.  He  surrendered  his  license,  and  the  commissioners  paid  him 
the  money.  The  commissioners  then  announced  that  the  license 
would  be  raised  to  five  thousand  dollars,  and  if  any  one  offered  to 
take  out  a  license  it  would  be  raised  to  ten  thousand  dollars.  In  other 
words,  there  was  to  be  no  more  legal  sales  of  liquor  in  Putnam 
county.  On  the  last  day  of  the  eighth  month  the  saloon  was  closed. 
All  the  bells  of  the  churches  were  rung  and  the  citizens  gathered  in 
the  court-house  yard  in  a  thanksgiving  service,  which,  after  song 

4j  (8l) 


82  Sam  P.  Jones. 

and  prayer,  addresses  were  made  by  Judge  W.  F,  Jenkins,  Rev.  M. 
J.  Cofer,  and  several  others.  It  was  a  memorable  meeting,  and  "All 
hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name"  was  never  more  heartily  sung.  Put- 
nam county  was  thoroughly  revolutionized.  Since  that  day  the 
question  of  saloons  has  never  been  discussed,  and  without  ever  vot- 
ing on  the  question,  the  county  has  been  dry,  and  is  without  saloons 
to-day. 

From  the  Newberne  circuit  Mr.  Jones  was  sent  to  the  Monticello 
circuit  in  Jasper  county.  Here  he  spent  the  most  successful  year  of 
his  life  as  a  pastor.  The  people  of  Monticello  were  among  the  no- 
blest in  Georgia.  Mr.  Jones  spent  his  time  in  faithful  pastoral  work, 
going  from  home  to  home,  visiting  and  praying  with  his  people. 
Wherever  he  went,  he  carried  sunshine  and  joy,  and  was  a  great 
comfort  in  times  of  grief  and  sorrow.  In  the  presence  of  sickness 
and  death  there  never  was  a  more  gentle,  tender  and  affectionate 
pastor.  The  way  he  would  lift  his  heart  to  God  in  prayer  for  the 
sorrowing  and  bereaved  always  brought  a  blessing  and  a  benediction 
to  those  in  distress.  He  had  gone  through  the  d^eep  waters  himself, 
and  always  suffered  with  those  who  had  lost  a  dear  one  of  the  home. 
After  he  had  entered  the  evangelistic  field,  and  had -preached  to  the 
thousands  throughout  the  United  States,  he  would  return  to  his 
home,  and  would  take  pleasure  and  delight  in  visiting  the  poor, 
sick,  and  sorrowing  of  our  town.  There  was  scarcely  a  home 
where  sorrow  had  come  but  what  he  went,  not  as  the  world's  great 
evangelist,  but  as  an  humble,  prayerful  minister  of  God,  to  spend  a 
few  hours  with  those  whose  sorrows  he  shared.  He  seemed  to  be 
hungry  for  the  blessings  and  benedictions  he  would  derive  from 
these  visits.  There  was  something  in  them  that  he  didn't  find  in  ad- 
dressing the  great  multitudes  in  his  meetings. 

In  connection  with  his  pastoral  visits,  he  always  thought  of  the 
Saviour's  words  :  "I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  fed  me ;  I  was  naked 
and  ye  clothed  me;  I  was  sick  and  ye  visited  me;  inasmuch  as  ye 
did  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it 
unto  me,"  and  then  he  would  say  to  me,  "That's  enough." 

Mr.  Jones  said  that  when  he  began  to  preach  that  he  was  brought 
tc  see  that  to  succeed  as  a  preacher,  he  must  either  be  a  great  think- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  83 

er,  or  a  great  worker.  Not  appreciating  his  real  ability  as  a  thinker, 
he  decided  to  give  some  time  to  earnest  work.  He  had  his  doubts 
whether  he  could  think  above  the  plane  where  the  masses  stood,  but 
he  knew  that  under  God  he  could  mix  and  mingle  with  them,  and  by- 
persistent  work,  influence  them  for  good. 

During  the  years  of  his  pastorate,  for  weeks  and  weeks  he  would 
preach  three  and  four  times  a  day,  averaging  about  four  hundred 
sermons  a  year.  His  good  friends  would  tell  him  that  he  was  work- 
ing himself  to  death,  but  he  would  laugh  them  off  by  saying  that 
Whitfield  said  that  when  a  physician  told  him  he  must  stop  working 
so  much,  that  he  must  not  preach  more  than  four  hours  every  day, 
and  six  hours  on  Sunday,  that  he  said,  "Doctor,  do  you  want  me  to 
rust  to  death?"  No  pastor  ever  did  the  same  amount  of  preaching 
and  visiting  that  he  crowded  into  the  eight  years  of  pastoral  work. 
He  would  remark  to  them,  "Perhaps  I  would  preach  better  sermons 
if  I  would  preach  fewer,  but  a  square  or  an  oblong  bullet  will  do  as 
much  execution  as  a  polished  round  one." 

It  is  estimated  that  during  his  pastorates  there  were  at  least  five 
thousand  people  converted.  All  of  his  meetings  were  successful,  and 
the  converts  could  be  counted  from  fifty  to  five  hundred  at  each 
place.  While  this  looked  like  it  might  be  enough  to  make  a  pastor 
proud  of  his  success,  Mr.  Jones  always  felt,  with  the  opportunities 
and  modern  appliances  of  the  day,  that  a  greater  number  of  souls 
should  have  been  won  to  Christ. 

While  he  made  a  constant  study  of  his  people,  and  the  Bible,  he 
did  not  waste  much  time  in  studying  the  systematized  treatises  on 
theology.  He  so  frequently  said :  "I  despise  theology  and  botany, 
but  I  love  religion  and  flowers."  Nor  did  he  waste  much  time  on 
creeds.  He  would  say :  "It  is  the  skin  of  the  truth,  dried  and  stuffed 
with  sand  and  sawdust.  If  I  had  a  creed,  I  would  sell  it  to  a  mu- 
seum." Nor  did  he  claim  to  be  a  metaphysician,  but  he  would  say, 
"1  can  see  a  hole  through  a  ladder,  if  there  is  any  light  on  the  other 
side." 

Perhaps  Mr.  Jones  was  more  interested  in  the  study  of  the  natu- 
ral sciences  than  any  other  branch  of  investigation.  He  was  thor- 
oughly familiar  with  those  subjects,  and  some  of  his  most  striking 


84  Sam  P.  Jon^s. 

illustrations  were  within  the  realm  of  natural  science.     He  was  a 
great  lover  and  reader  of  natural  history,  especially  that  part  which 
treats  of  the  habits  of  animals,  and  what  they  feed  upon.     The 
knowledge  that  he  derived  from  the  study  of  natural  history  fre- 
quently helped  him  in  understanding  human  nature.     He  was  also 
a  great  student  of  the  history  of  our  country,  and  many  of  his  most 
notable  illustrations  were  culled  from  the  history  of  the  world. 
Men  of  prominence  in  the  educational  world  would  listen  with  won- 
der and  amazement  at  many  of  the  forceful  illustrations  gathered 
from  history,  and  would  exclaim,  "Wonder  when  he  read  that,  and 
where  he  found  it?"     With  the  great  knowledge  at  his  command, 
he  would  go  before  an  audience,  selecting  the  most  appropriate  text 
for  the  occasion,  and  concentrate  his  mind  upon  it,  bringing  before 
them  all  available  and  suitable  knowledge,  ever  keeping  his  eye  upon 
his  congregation.     While  no  man  ever  preached  with  more  concen- 
tration and  conciseness,  sometimes  he  would  realize  that  there  was 
a  possibility  of  his  crowd  not  following  him  closely,  then  he  would 
leave  his  thread  of  argument,  and  stay  with  his  crowd.     This  fre- 
quently led  him  to  say,  "I  may  not  always  stick  to  my  text,  but  I'll 
stick  to  my  crowd."  The  story  told  him  by  brother  Richardson  illus- 
trated the  point  rather  forcefully.   "There  is  nothing  like  holding  the 
gun  all  over  the  tree,"  he  would  say.   "As  with  the  old,  palsied  father 
who  went  out  with  his  son  squirrel  hunting,  the  old  man's  part  was 
to  shake  the  bush,  and  he  had  but  to  take  hold  of  the  bush  and  it 
would  shake  without  any  effort.     On  one  occasion  when  he  was  to 
shake  the  bush  and  turn  the  squirrel,  after  he  had  turned  the  squir- 
rel for  four  or  five  different  shots  for  his  son,  all  of  which  failed  of 
their  mark,  the  old  man  said :  'Give  me  the  gun,  and  you  shake  the 
bush.'    The  boy  gave  up  the  gun  and  shook  the  bush  and  turned  the 
squirrel.    The  old  man  held  up  the  gun  in  his  palsied  hands,  and  as 
it  'wobbled'  all  over  the  tree,  'bang'  went  the  gun  and  down  came 
the  game,  at  which  the  old  man  remarked  joyfully,  'I  told  you  I'd 
git  him.'    The  boy  replied,  'Anybody  could  kill  a  squirrel  up  a  tree 
who  would  hold  a  gun  all  over  it,  as  you  did.'  " 

The  great  truths  of  the  Bible  such  as  sin,  repentance,  faith,  salva- 
tion, heaven  and  hell  were  preached  by  him  as  no  sectarian,  theolo- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  85 

gian  or  metaphysician  has  ever  done.  He  preached  those  great 
truths  with  a  clearness  of  mind  and  an  unction  of  heart  that  has  no 
parallel  in  history.  He  never  tried  to  show  his  congregation  the  dif- 
ference between  evangelical  and  legal  repentance;  he  never  dis- 
cussed before  them  whether  depravity  was  partial  or  total.  He 
never  tried  to  prove  to  them  that  there  is  a  God,  or  that  Christ  is 
divine,  or  that  there  is  a  heaven  or  a  hell.  He  took  those  great  truths 
as  a  fact,  because  the  Bible  stated  them,  and  started  his  message 
with  those  things  in  the  background.  The  Bible  was  the  basis  for 
all  that  he  preached,  and  the  inspiration  of  all  his  hopes.  He  left  the 
proof  of  these  things  to  those  who  wished  to  speculate  upon  them. 
His  idea  was  that  Christ  meant  just  what  he  said,  and  he  preached 
the  gospel  instead  of  defending  it,  proclaimed  the  word  instead  of 
trying  to  prove  it.  He  never  changed  his  belief  about  these  truths, 
and  preached  them  as  firmly  and  powerfully  the  last  meeting  he  con- 
ducted as  in  his  early  pastorate. 

While  on  the  Monticello  work,  Mr.  Jones  assisted  more  pastors 
in  revival  work  than  he  had  been  able  to  do  before.  Some  of  the 
places  visited  were  Barnesville,  LaGrange,  Griffin,  and  West  Point. 

At  Barnesville  there  was  something  near  one  hundred  persons 
that  were  received  into  the  church,  while  the  entire  church  seemed 
to  have  made  a  reconsecration  and  received  a  fresh  baptism  of  the. 
Spirit.  From  the  streets  that  had  been  so  noted  for  profanity,  pro- 
faneness  disappeared  entirely.  Two  of  the  saloons  closed  their 
business,  and  their  proprietors  were  among  the  converts.  A  deep 
feeling  of  solemnity  rested  upon  every  one,  and  the  town  was  not 
the  same. 

At  LaGrange  another  mighty  work  of  grace  followed  his  preach- 
ing. An  intelligent  observer  said :  "It  is  difficult  to  criticise  Mr. 
Jones's  preaching.  It  is  different  from  that  of  any  other  man  the 
writer  ever  heard.  His  methods  are  unprecedented,  but  always  suc- 
cessful; his  understanding  of  the  human  heart,  and  his  analysis  of 
human  motives  and  conduct  are  marvelous.  His  faith  in  God  un- 
bounded, and  his  zeal  never  flags.  His  illustrations  are  without 
number.  They  are  always  sharply  drawn,  clear,  and  cutting.  He 
uses   satire  the  keenest,   and  brings  the   audience  to  involuntary. 


86  Sam  P.  Jones. 

laughter,  then  startles  them  with  a  declaration  of  astounding  truth 
from  God's  words,  then  makes  an  appeal  so  touching  that  tears  rush 
unbidden  to  the  eyes.  He  is,  withal,  a  plain,  honest  preacher  with 
but  one  motive — an  all-consuming  desire  to  save  souls  for  his  Mas- 
ter. The  State  of  Georgia,  with  all  its  renowned  ministers,  does 
/lot  present  a  more  attractive  preacher  than  he,  not  one  that  can  draw 
a  larger  congregation,  or  interest  them  more  after  they  are  gathered. 
He  and  his  preaching  are  the  principal  subjects  of  conversation  in 
LaGrange." 

At  West  Point  there  was  a  great  revival,  which  resulted  in  many 
accessions  to  the  different  churches  in  the  town.  There  was  a  moral 
reformation  wrought  that  changed  the  aspects  of  the  place.  When 
Mr.  Jones  went  there,  the  people  were  so  dead,  religiously,  that  the 
attendance  was  quite  small.  It  was  a  morning  service  in  a  week- 
day. It  seemed  the  most  hopeless  outlook  for  a  meeting.  There 
were  but  four  people  to  hear  him  preach  his  first  sermon.  After  his 
sermon  he  said,  "Now,  I  want  us  to  have  an  altar  service."  Mr. 
Jones  and  the  pastor  and  two  noble  women  knelt  for  prayer.  After 
they  had  reconsecrated  themselves  to  God,  Mr.  Jones  said :  "I  want 
the  pastor  to  go  with  me  to  every  business  house  in  this  town,  and 
we  will  say  to  the  men  as  we  meet  them,  just  one  thing,  and  that  is, 
'You  are  going  to  hell,'  and  then  we  will  move  on.  I  want  you  good 
women  to  go  all  over  this  town,  ring  the  door  bell,  and  when  the 
women  meet  you,  just  look  them  squarely  in  the  face  and  don't  say 
but  one  thing,  and  that  is,  'You  are  going  to  hell.'  "  They  made 
him  the  promise,  and  that  afternoon  practically  every  woman  in  the 
town  was  so  addressed,  while  Mr.  Jones  and  the  pastor  m.et  men 
and  warned  them  in  that  startling  way.  Some  of  the  women 
slammed  the  doors  in  the  faces  of  the  two  good  women,  while  others 
had  their  curiosity  aroused.  The  men  got  very  angry,  and  it  was 
with  much  difficulty  and  shrewd  reasoning  that  fights  were  avoided. 
That  night  the  whole  town  was  out  to  church,  and  Mr.  Jones 
preached  one  of  his  most  scathing  sermons.  A  great  revival  broke 
out  which  swept  over  the  entire  place,  until  finally  the  men  who  were 
notoriously  opposed  to  religion  were  in  constant  attendance  upon 
the  services. 


Sam  p.  Jones. 


87 


At  the  morning  hours  the  stores  were  closed,  and  the  church  was 
always  crowded.  A  writer  declared  that  he  was  as  striking  and  im- 
pressive in  his  speaking  as  Talmage ;  that  he  created  sensation  with- 
out making  sensation  his  end.  He  preaches  the  truth  unvarnished, 
straight,  and  strong,  and  in  such  a  way  as  to  captivate  the  common 
sense  of  his  hearers  and  go  direct  to  their  hearts.  His  denunciations 
of  sin  are  withering,  and  yet  truthful.  His  illustrations  cut  some- 
times like  a  knife.  He  draws  pictures  as  clear-cut  as  a  fine  cameo,  and 
he  has  a  pathos  powerful  at  times  enough  to  melt  the  hearts  of  his 
hearers.  The  Rev.  S.  P.  Calloway,  in  speaking  to  me,  said :  "He 
is  a  phenomenal  man.    I  never  saw  such  a  king  of  congregations." 

In  all  those  early  meetings  the  lines  were  drawn.  Mr.  Jones 
worked  on  the  principle  that  there  could  be^  no  movement  without 
friction ;  no  battle  without  an  issue ;  no  issue  without  the  drawing 
of  lines.  He  believed  that  it  was  possible  for  a  man  to  preach  the 
gospel  and  live  in  peace  with  the  devil  with  an  armstice  unbroken, 
but  said :  "Woe  be  to  the  preacher  when  all  men  speak  well  of  him." 
In  all  those  years  as  a  pastor  he  was  the  object  of  a  great  deal  of 
criticism.  If  truth  furnished  the  people  with  no  material  with  which 
they  could  assault  him,  there  was  no  falsehood  that  the  wicked  could 
conceive  that  they  would  not  take  and  circulate  against  him. 

The  most  remarkable  conversion  under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Jones 
at  Monticello  was  that  of  Maj.  Jno.  C.  Key.  Mr.  Jones  in  speaking 
of  him  said :  "I  think  he  is  the  grandest  hero  living  for  God  in 
America  to-day.  He  is  a  lawyer  with  a  splendid  practice,  and  a 
thorough  gentleman.  I  was  conducting  a  meeting  in  his  town,  and 
on  Sunday  morning,  the  anniversary  of  his  birth,  and  I  think  the 
anniversary  of  his  marriage  as  well,  he  called  to  his  wife  after 
breakfast  and  had  her  to  come  and  sit  down  by  his  side.  She  was 
the  sweetest  Christian  woman,  and  the  best  housekeeper,  I  ever  saw 
in  my  life.  He  called  her  'Mary  and  Martha,'  and  she  was 
both.  He  said  to  her  that  Sunday  morning,  'Wife,  I  am  fifty  years 
old  to-day;  we  have  been  married  exactly  thirty  years;  you  have 
been  a  Christian  woman  ever  since  we  were  married,  and  before 
that,  too.  I  have  never  cared  for  these  things,  but  I  wish  to  say  I 
qm  going  with  you  to  church,  and  ask  the  preacher  when  he  finishes 


88  Sam  P.  Jones. 

the  sermon  to  open  the  doors,  and  then  I  am  going  up  to  the  altar 
and  join  the  church,  and  spend  the  rest  of  my  days  with  you  in  the 
Christian  Hfe,'  With  great  joy  she  said,  'Husband,  are  you?'  and 
he  answered,  'That's  what  I  am  going  to  do.'  'Oh,'  she  exclaimed, 
'how  I  rejoice!'  He  went  to  the  church  with  his  wife,  and  sat  by 
her  side  during  the  service,  and  when  the  sermon  had  ended  he 
arose  and  said :  'Will  the  pastor  please  open  the  doors  of  the 
church?'  The  doors  were  thrown  open  and  that  man  walked  up 
and  joined.  He  turned  to  the  congregation  and  said :  'Fellow 
townsmen  and  neighbors,  you  all  know  me ;  I  have  lived  among  you 
from  childhood.  I  am  fifty  years  old  to-day.  I  have  been  married 
thirty  years.  I  have  a  good  Christian  wife,  but  I  have  not  been  a 
Christian.  I  said  to  her  this  morning,  "Wife,  I  am.  fifty  years  old 
to-day.  We  have  been  married  these  thirty  years;  during  all  that 
time  you  have  been  a  devoted  Christian  woman,  but  I  have  never 
cared  about  anything  of  the  kind.  Now,  wife,  I  am  going  to  join 
the  church  where  you  have  been  so  many  years."  Brethren,  I  do 
not  claim  to  have  any  religion,  but  I  promise  you  this,  there  shall 
not  be  a  man  in  this  church  who  shall  beat  me  living  right,  or  beat 
me  serving  God,  unless  he  has  more  sense  than  I  have.'  His  state- 
ment moved  the  audience  to  sympathetic  tears,  and  there  were  many 
hearty  handshakes  and  shouts  of  God's  people.  As  I  was  away 
from  my  circuit  a  great  deal  the  latter  part  of  the  year,  frequently 
it  was  impossible  for  me  to  return  and  fill  my  appointment  on  Sun- 
day. I  would  write  him,  'Dear  Brother  Key :  I  can  not  return ;  will 
you  preach  for  me  Sunday  ?'  and  I  always  received  this  reply :  'Dear 
Brother  Jones :  I  can  not  preach  much,  but  I  will  do  the  best  I  can. 
You  go  on  bringing  souls  to  God.'  He  taught  in  the  Sabbath- 
school,  and  did  everything  which  a  true  Christian  man  could  do.  He 
was  one  of  the  finest  Christian  men  that  lived  on  the  face  of  the 
earth,  and  a  few  years  ago  he  died  a  triumphant  death  and  went 
home  happy." 

Monticello  and  Jasper  county  were  noted  for  their  wickedness. 
The  people  were  intelligent,  well  to  do,  worldly  and  wicked.  There 
were  seven  hundred  converted  and  joined  the  churches  while  Mr. 
Jones  was  there,  and  a  revival  was  carried  on  by  the  converts  which 


Sam  p.  Jones.  89 

revolutionized  the  county.  The  saloons  were  soon  voted  out.  The 
influence  extended  to  adjoining  counties,  and  the  work  abides  to- 
Gay,  and  there  are  no  more  religious  and  spiritual  people  to  be  found 
anywhere,  after  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

Another  convert  was  Mr.  Webb,  who  was  a  liquor  dealer. 
Kis  little  boy  had  become  a  Christian,  and  he  and  his  wife  were 
greatly  convicted  and  happily  converted,  at  the  same  time,  in  their 
liome.  He  went  with  Mr.  Jones  to  his  different  appointments,  and 
did  much  to  drive  liquor  from  the  town  and  county.  He  is  to-day 
■3.  most  earnest  and  godly  Christian. 

The  work  on  the  Monticello  circuit  closed  his  labors  as  a  pastor. 
The  latter  part  of  the  year  his  presiding  elder  had  given  him  per- 
mission to  spend  some  of  his  time  in  assisting  other  pastors  in  re- 
vival work.  His  success  while  on  the  Monticello  circuit  and  the 
great  revivals  that  he  conducted  gave  him  prestige  at  the  coming 
annual  conference,  and  he  was  appointed  to  the  agency  of  the  North 
Georgia  Orphanage. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


The  Orphans'  Home;  and  kevivaIv  Work. 

In  the  previous  chapter  we  have  seen  how  the  calls  for  evangelis- 
tic work  multiplied  while  he  was  serving  the  Newberne  and  Monti- 
cello  circuits.  At  the  last  place  his  presiding  elder  and  the  quarterly 
conference  decided  that  the  calls  from  other  brethren  were  so  urgent 
that  he  might  spend  some  of  his  time  in  assisting  them.  Mr.  Jones 
had  realized  that  he  was  giving  almost  half  of  his  time  to  outside 
work,  and  at  the  close  of  the  conference  his  presiding  elder  recom- 
mended that  he  be  appointed  to  the  agency,  believing  that  he  was 
the  only  man  that  could  raise  the  money  to  cover  the  indebtedness 
of  the  Orphanage,  and  thereby  enable  him  to  do  more  revival  work. 

The  Home  was  overwhelmingly  in  debt.  It  could  hardly  have 
been  sold  for  enough  money  to  have  cancelled  the  indebtedness. 
Vincent  R.  Tourney,  Judge  Meriwether,  and  others,  could  not  go 
further  with  the  debt  and  interest.  They  saw  the  rapidly  increas- 
ing popularity  of  Mr.  Jones,  and  felt  that  as  agent  he  should  care 
for  the  orphans  and  raise  the  debt,  and  have  a  wider  sphere  for  his 
talent  as  an  evangelist. 

In  December  of  1880,  at  the  conference  held  at  Rome,  presided 
over  by  Bishop  McTyeire,  Mr.  Jones  was  made  agent  of  the  Or- 
phans' Home.  In  view  of  his  desire  to  devote  more  time  to  the  work 
of  an  evangelist,  he  received  the  appointment  gratefully,  believing 
that  it  would  give  him  larger  opportunity  to  do  revival  work.  The 
demand  for  such  service  was  so  urgent,  that  he  felt  that  the  Spirit 
was  leading  him  in  that  direction,  so  this  seemed  to  be  a  providential 
opening.  Instead  of  the  Orphanage  being  in  debt  eight  or  ten 
thousand  dollars,  as  many  supposed,  he  found  by  the  time  old  notes 
and  debts  were  paid  that  the  amount  was  nearly  twice  this  amount. 
In  canvassing  for  money    he  found  people  were  not  very  anxious 

(90) 


Sam  p.  Jones,  91 

to  pay  old  debts,  but  his  remarkable  ability  in  raising  funds  over- 
came the  objections,  and  everywhere  he  went  money  came  in  by 
basketfuls.  Some  of  the  collections  were  marvelous.  He  paid  off 
all  the  debts  and  raised  money  to  erect  the  handsome  main  building, 
now  known  as  the  "Sam  Jones  Building." 

In  writing  to  the  Christian  Advocate,  he  gave  an  account  of  where 
he  had  been,  and  what  he  had  done,  covering  a  period  of  several 
months.     In  the  letter  he  says : 

"The  eyes  of  the  world  are  upon  an  agent,  and  their  ears  are  not 
open  to  his  cries.  Some  respect  him,  some  pity  him,  some  despise 
him,  while  on  the  other  hand,  an  agent  respects  the  generous,  pities 
the  poor  and  despises  the  miser,  so  he  strikes  his  balance-sheet,  'and 
moves  on. 

"I  began  Friday  night,  sixteenth  of  December,  at  the  old,  but 
trusty  town  of  Lexington ;  a  fair  congregation  and  twenty-five  dol- 
lars cheerfully  given  to  the  Orphans'  Home.  Thence  to  Winter- 
ville,  a  good  congregation  and  twenty-three  dollars.  I  wonder  if 
that  town  will  ever  be  as  large  as  the  great  heart  of  Bro.  John  Win- 
ter ?  I  spent  a  pleasant  night  with  him ;  left  him  Sunday  morning, 
thinking  more  of  my  race.  Thank  God  for  every  oasis  in  an  agent's 
Sahara.  Thence  to  Athens,  a  city  made  a  hundred  times  larger  than 
its  corporate  limits  by  its  noble  men  and  their  noble  deeds.  They 
gave  me  cheerfully  more  than  tzvo  hundred  dollars,  and  kindly  said, 
'Come  again.'  Thence  to  Thomson,  Christmas  Sunday.  I  could 
say  much  for  this  people — noble,  kind,  generous.  A  bad  day,  fair 
congregation  and  one  hundred  dollars  for  my  cause.  Three  p.m.  at 
Harlem ;  good  congregation,  twelve  dollars  contributed.  The  month 
of  December  gave  me  nearly  four  hundred  dollars. 

"First  Sunday  in  January  I  was  at  eleven  a.m.  at  Pain's  Chapel, 
Atlanta.  A  good  house,  kind  people.  'A  man  may  take  a  neigh- 
bor's part,  yet  have  no  cash  to  spare  him.'  Collection,  thirty-three 
dollars  and  sixty-five  cents.  Sixth  church  three  p.m. ;  the  youngest 
of  the  Atlanta  churches,  but  grand  in  Christliness;  they  gave  me 
iifty-one  dollars  and  twenty-six  cents.  St.  Paul  church  at  night; 
this  church  is  noted  for  its  heroic  struggles  against  wind  and  tide, 
and  its  patient  continence  in  well  doing.    They  gave  me  thirty-seven 


92  Sam  P.  Jones. 

dollars.  If,  wherever  there  was  a  will  there  was  a  way,  I  would 
have  gotten  one  thousand  there.  At  Oothcaloga,  Calhoun  circuit, 
second  Sunday,  eleven  a.m. ;  they  came  through  cold  and  mud  and 
gave  me  twenty-three  dollars.  I  said,  'Thank  you,'  and  left,  feeling 
good.  At  Adairsville,  three  p.m.,  I  got  one  hundred  dollars,  minus 
ninety-four  dollars  and  forty-five  cents.  Thence  to  Calhoun  at 
night;  I  had  a  fine  congregation,  got  twenty-two  dollars  and  came 
away  wondering  that  I  did  not  get  more.  Third  Sunday  I  was 
rained  out.  Fourth  Sunday,  Rome,  Dr.  Potter — how  I  love  him, 
how  I  prize  his  counsel,  how  his  words  impress  me.  (How  that 
turkey  dinner  depressed  me.)  His  church  loves,  reverences  and  ad- 
mires (and  I  trust  will  obey)  him.  I  have  been  nowhere  and  found 
the  people  and  preacher  so  universally  pleased  with  each  other.  I 
got  over  one  hundred  dollars  there,  mud  or  no  mud.  January  gave 
me  about  three  hundred  dollars. 

"February,  still  in  the  mud ;  can't  say  of  my  own  knowledge  that 
the  sun  has  risen  but  one  time  since  Christmas,  but  through  the  mud 
I  will  go  until  I  am  up  to  my  chin.  First  Sunday,  eleven  a.  m.,  at 
Jackson's  Chapel,  Cave  Spring  circuit,  seventeen  dollars  for  the  Or- 
phan's Home;  night  at  Cave  Spring,  good  congregation,  thirty- 
nine  dollars.  Edgewood  next,  second  Sunday,  was  pleased  with  that 
congregation;  they  listened  scripturally,  and  gave  tolerably — twen- 
ty-seven dollars  there.  At  night  I  was  with  Brother  Christian  at 
Evans'  Chapel ;  they  are  a  religious  people — kind,  hospitable ;  they 
gave  me  sixty-three  dollars.  Third  Sunday,  Dalton,  a  fine  member- 
ship, a  strong  church ;  they  have  a  fine  pastor,  a  good  preacher ;  he 
is  self-poised,  successful.  I  got  seventy  dollars  there.  I  would 
have  trebled  that  amount  there  but  somiC  of  the  good  brethren  vv^ere 
prejudiced;  they  did  not  know  that  our  institution  had  repented, 
been  converted,  and  was  now  a  child  of  God,  and  on  its  way  to 
heaven.  We  will  outlive  their  prejudices.  Fourth  Sunday  at  Ma- 
rietta ;  it  was  a  benediction  to  be  vv^ith  those  people ;  Brother  Seals 
has  his  church  in  full  sympathy  with  him  in  his  labors  of  love,  and 
works  of  faith.  You  may  soon  chronicle  one  of  the  greatest  re- 
vivals. Marietta  the  place,  Brother  Seals  the  instrument.  They 
gave  me   one  hundred   and   twenty   dollars.      Add   to   the   above 


Sam  p.  Jones.  93 

amounts  private  donations  and  I  have  more  than  one  thousand  dol- 
lars as  the  result  of  my  first  three  months  this  year,  in  spite  of  rain 
and  mud,  gloom  and  despondenc}^ 

"Now,  Mr.  Editor,  we  are  taking  all  orphan  children  we  can  find 
or  hear  of,  placing  them  in  good  homes.  We  are  paying  for  our 
home,  because  we  must  have  a  place  to  which  they  must  come,  and 
a  place  from  which  they  go.  We  are  now  a  success,  and  nothing 
succeeds  like  success. 

"Yours, 

"S.  P.  Jones,  Agent." 

"P.  S. — Please  let  me  return  thanks  to  the  generous  public  and 
the  pastors  who  have  universally  been  a  help  to  me  in  my  labors. 
God  bless  them  all,  preachers  and  people.  S.  P.  J." 

In  the  year  1882,  while  engaged  in  raising  money  for  the  Or- 
phanage, he  conducted  a  great  many  meetings  throughout  Georgia. 
Some  of  the  greatest  revivals  ever  held  in  the  State  were  conducted 
by  him  at  this  time.  He  preached  in  most  of  the  leading  pulpits  of 
Georgia.  His  fame  soon  covered  the  entire  State.  All  of  these 
meetings  were  eminently  successful,  and  hundreds  of  converts  were 
made  wherever  he  labored. 

At  Newnan,  Ga.,  he  held  a  meeting  and  raised  a  good  sum  for  the 
Orphanage.  The  Newnan  court  was  in  session,  and  adjourned  to 
hear  him  preach.  The  result  was  the  conversion  of  two  members  of 
the  grand  jury,  who  had  been  unbelievers,  and  the  meeting  closed 
with  members  of  the  grand  jury  shouting. 

At  Athens,  Ga.,  he  preached  in  the  First  Methodist  church  to  an 
audience  that  filled  the  first  floor  and  the  gallery.  At  the  close  of 
this  meeting  he  raised  a  collection  of  nearly  four  hundred  dollars 
for  his  Orphans'  Home. 

At  Eatonton,  in  May,  he  visited  the  town  again  in  the  interest  of 
the  Orphanage.  The  Messenger  says:  "He  is  of  the  people;  they 
like  him,  and  he  knows  how  to  reach  and  touch  their  hearts.  \A'hen 
he  visits  the  community  he  never  fails  to  leave  the  religious  atmos- 
phere in  a  healthier  condition.  He  is  an  honor  to  his  State  and 
church,  and  thousands  live  to  bless  the  day  when  they  m.et  and 


94  Sam  P.  Jones. 

listentvi  to  his  searching  appeals  in  the  great  meeting  he  held  here." 
He  received  in  money  and  first-class  subscriptions  for  the  Orphans' 
Home  about  three  hundred  dollars. 

He  spoke  in  Atlanta  in  the  interest  of  the  Home  to  a  crowded 
house  in  the  First  Methodist  church.  A  paper  said :  "Mr.  Jones 
rose  and  made  a  most  pathetic  appeal ;  spoke  of  the  good  the  home 
had  done,  and  was  doing;  of  the  debt  that  had  been  carried,  but  was 
gradually  being  paid;  of  the  success  he  had  met  with  in  dififerent 
parts  of  the  State,  and  the  scenes  of  sadness  and  desolation  he  had 
visited — mothers  that  had  worked  and  labored  for  their  little  ones 
and  were  ready  to  faint  by  the  way,  because  bread  could  not  be  put 
into  their  mouths,  and  how  one  had  said  to  him  that  surely  God 
had  sent  him  to  her,  in  her  sore  distress,  and  had  given  her  little 
ones  up — torn  her  heartstrings  to  part  with  those  little  ones — 
rather  than  to  see  them  starve,  and  blessed  God  that  there  was  an 
Orphans'  Home.  He  said  that  last  year  his  wife  said  to  him :  "Mr. 
Jones,  I  don't  want  you  to  take  that  appointment  again,"  but  after 
the  good  she  saw  had  been  done  in  the  past  year,  her  parting  word 
to  him  had  been  :  "You  run  the  Orphan  Home  in  Decatur,  and  I  will 
run  your  oi'phan  home  here  in  Cartersville."  Furthennore,  he  said : 
"Friends,  when  I  came  from  home,  wife  said  to  me:  'Come  back 
to-night  so  you  may  see  our  children  when  they  open  their  stock- 
ings in  the  moniing.'  When  I  am  awakened  before  day  on  Christ- 
mas morning  and  see  the  expressions  of  delight  on  m.y  little  chil- 
dren's faces,  hear  them  blowing  their  horns  and  beating  their 
drums,  I  shall  look  at  them  and  think:  'V/ill  we  all  be  here  next 
Christmas,  or  will  they  be  orphans?'  Hov/  many  in  miy  presence 
can  tell  whether  one  or  more  may  be  missed  before  Christmas  comes 
around ;  or,  sadder  still,  how  many  may  during  this  year  lay  to  rest 
some  dear  little  one  whose  prattle  made  their  hearts  glad  last  year?" 
There  was  not  a  dry  eye  in  the  house,  and  strong  men  bowed  their 
heads  and  were  not  ashamed  of  the  tears  that  did  honor  to  their 
manhood. 

When  ]\Tr.  Jones  had  concluded  his  remarks,  the  treasurer  arose 
and  stated  that  a  few  years  ago  the  debt  of  the  Home  far  exceeded 
the  value  of  the  place,  and  its  influence  had  been  crippled  much  by 


Sam  p.  Jones.  '  95 

this  embarrassment,  but  to  say  that  our  property,  which  was  val- 
ued at  ten  thousand  dollars,  has  only  a  debt  of  three  thousand  eight 
hundred  due  on  it  shows  a  brighter  day  coming  for  us.  The  people 
are  helping  us,  and  God's  blessing  is  with  us.  If  you  could  see  those 
children  as  I  have  seen  them,  join  with  them  in  their  little  games, 
eat  at  the  table  with  them,  be  with  the  boys  while  they  work  in 
the  field ;  if  you  could  see  them  thus,  you  would  all  contribute  liber- 
ally to  their  support.  Mr.  Jones  then  proceeded  to  take  a  collection, 
and  the  congregation  responded  very  liberally.  A  stranger  gave  a 
check  on  the  New  York  Exchange  National  Bank  for  one  hundred 
dollars.  As  a  result  of  the  collection  one  thousand  dollars  was 
raised. 

The  Atlanta  Constitution  says :  "We  have  never  commended  a 
more  admirable  charity  than  the  Orphans'  Home.  The  care  of  help- 
less little  children,  the  providing  of  a  home  for  homeless  babies — the 
reclaiming  of  waifs  from  the  streets,  from  wretchedness  and  want, 
or  worse — appeals  strongly  to  the  sympathy  of  all  fathers  and 
mothers.  When  this  work  is  done  without  endowment,  by  heroic 
appeals  to  the  public,  and  faith  in  human  nature,  and  economy  and 
efficiency,  we  fail  to  see  how  any  man  or  woman  can  refuse  it  their 
aid.  The  Orphans'  Home  stands  on  its  record.  It  has  provided 
shelter,  a  home,  food,  clothing  and  schooling  to  thirty-six  orphan 
children  at  a  total  cost  of  less  than  twelve  hundred  dollars,  or  less 
than  thirty  dollars  per  annum  to  the  child.  This  is  marvelous  in  its 
cheapness,  and  yet  the  happy  faces  of  the  children,  their  plump  fig- 
ures and  rosy  cheeks,  show  that  they  have  had  abundance.  The 
secret  of  the  thing  is  in  the  fine  management  of  the  farm  on  which 
the  Home  is  located — of  the  poultry-yard,  garden,  dairy  and  barn- 
yard, and  in  putting  the  children  at  work  on  the  farm  and  in  the 
house. 

"Mr.  Jones,  the  agent  of  the  Home,  appeals  to  the  public  for  five 
thousand  dollars  with  which  to  build  an  additional  house  in  which 
to  put  other  children  who  are  now  applying  for  admission.  The 
managers  are  able  to  feed  all  the  children  who  apply,  but  they 
have  no  room  for  them.  With  five  thousand  dollars  he  agreed  to 
build  a  new  house  that  will  accommodate  from  fifty  to  eighty  more 


96  Sam  P.  Jones. 

children,  and  to  begin  the  work  when  two  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars  is  subscribed.  This  amount  ought  to  be  subscribed  without 
a  day's  delay,  and  we  believe  our  people  will  subscribe  it  when  they 
are  called  upon." 

In  this  chapter  it  is  impossible  to  give  detailed  accounts  of  the 
great  revivals  that  Mr.  Jones  held  during  the  first  four  years  as 
agent.  Most  of  the  meetings  were  held  in  Georgia,  while  some  of 
his  great  revivals  were  in  adjoining  States.  He  visited  Louisville, 
Ky.,  and  assisted  Dr.  J.  C.  Morris  in  a  wonderful  meeting  at  the 
Walnut  Street  Methodist  church.  Dr.  Morris,  in  speaking  of  the 
meeting,  said :  "From  his  first  appearance  he  became  identified  with 
the  religious  life  of  that  rare  congregation,  and  was  enshrined  in 
their  truest,  tenderest  Christian  affection.  My  own  heart  knitted  to 
him,  and  to  the  sad  day  of  his  departure  from  among  us  I  recognized 
him  to  be  the  friend  of  God,  and  of  his  fellow  men." 

He  held  great  meetings  in  Atlanta  at  the  First  church,  with  Gen- 
eral Evans  as  pastor.  The  second  was  with  Rev.  Howell  H.  Parks. 
Trinity  church,  that  city,  was  also  a  field  where  he  worked  re- 
peatedly during  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  T.  R.  Kendall.  Many  promi- 
nent members  of  those  two  great  churches  were  either  converted  or 
led  to  a  deeper  consecration  during  his  ministry  at  that  time.  With 
Rev.  J.  O.  A.  Cook  as  pastor  of  the  St.  Luke's  church,  Columbus, 
Ga.,  he  had  a  glorious  meeting.  For  nearly  a  month  great  crowds 
gathered  at  this  church,  and  many  were  brought  to  the  Saviour.  In 
Augusta,  Ga.,  at  the  St.  John's  church,  during  the  pastorates  of 
Rev.  W.  H.  LaPrade  and  Rev.  Warren  A.  Candler,  now  bishop,  the 
work  was  greatly  honored  of  the  Lord.  In  Savannah,  Ga.,  there 
were  also  great  meetings  held  in  the  Trinity  and  the  Monumental 
Methodist  churches.  He  visited  Macon,  Ga.,  and  assisted  Dr.  Jos. 
S.  Key,  now  bishop,  in  a  great  work.  His  preaching  made  a  pro- 
found impression  upon  the  people  and  the  pastor,  and  in  after-years 
Bishop  Key  said :  "He  staid  with  me  near  a  month  in  my  home.  I 
came  to  know  him  thoroughly,  and  my  opinion  of  him  and  my  esti- 
mate never  changed,  except  that  he  grew  greater  and  broader  and 
sweeter  in  his  spirit  and  manner.  His  first  sermon  in  that  meeting 
arrested  attention  and  drew  a  crowd  to  hear  him,     I  have  told  him 


Sam  p.  Jones.  97 

many  years  later  that,  like  a  mockingbird,  his  first  song  was  as  good 
as  his  last." 

Dr.  A.  J.  Lamar  tells  how  Mr.  Jones's  meeting  broke  up  the  one 
that  he  was  holding  in  the  Baptist  church.  His  meeting  had  started 
off  remarkably  well,  but  for  some  unaccountable  reason  to  Dr.  La- 
mar, the  audience  fell  off  Monday  night  to  half ;  on  Tuesday  to  one- 
fourth,  and  on  Wednesday  he  had  only  a  few  of  his  deacons,  and 
the  great  congregation  was  gone.  •  He  was  dumbfounded.  He 
turned  to  the  deacons  and  said :  "What  has  happened  to  this  meet- 
ing?" They  looked  at  him  with  a  quizzical  look  and  said :  "Did  you 
not  know  Sam  Jones  was  conducting  a  meeting  at  the  Mulberry 
Street  Methodist  church?"  "Who  is  Sam  Jones?"  replied  Dr.  La- 
mar. The  deacons  were  greatly  surprised,  and  said :  "You  don't 
know  who  Sam  Jones  is  ?"  Dr.  Lamar  replied  :  "In  South  Carolina, 
where  I  have  just  come  from,  I  never  heard  of  him."  "Well,"  said 
they,  "Sam  Jones  is  the  greatest  sensation  Georgia  ever  produced. 
When  he  is  in  town  there  is  no  use  to  try  to  run  against  him.  All 
our  people  are  around  to  hear  him  to-night."  "Well,"  said  Dr.  La- 
mar, "let's  adjourn  this  meeting  and  go  over  and  see  what  manner 
■of  man  he  is."  He  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Jones,  and  said  :  "Brother 
Jones,  you  have  taken  my  crowd  from  m.e,  but  I  don't  see  that  you 
are  getting  many  of  them  converted  to-night."  "Well,"  replied  Mr. 
Jones,  "Brother  Lamar,  a  fellow  has  got  to  catch  his  fish  before  he 
strings  them.  I  am  just  drumming  up  my  crowd,  and  will  string 
them  after  awhile."  Dr.  Lamar  replied :  "Well,  I  am  coming  to  see 
you  string  them,  and  to  help,  if  I  can."  Mr.  Jones  replied :  "That's 
the  talk,  we  need  the  help  of  all  good  men." 

During  that  meeting' Dr.  Lamar  and  his  people  were  as  enthusi- 
astic as  the  members  and  pastor  of  the  church  in  which  it  was  held. 
In  many  other  places  he  preached  and  won  souls  -to  Christ,  and  the 
friendship  and  love  begotten  in  the  hearts  of  the  preachers  whom  he 
met  in  those  early  days  clung  to  him  through  all  the  years  of  his  life. 

The  pastors  of  Georgia  have  been  among  the  best  and  closest 
friends  he  has  had.  For  several  years  he  took  a  nominal  appoint- 
ment, and  continued  to  raise  money  for  the  Orphanage  wherever  he 
was  called  to  preach,  and  his  work  began  to  extend  in  all  directions, 
and  he  started  out  in  the  great  work  of  world-wide  evanerelism. 


yS  Sam  p.  Jones. 

For  eleven  years  Mr.  Jones  was  the  agent  and  bore  all  the  ex- 
penses of  the  Home.  The  treasurer  drew  upon  him  for  whatever 
was  needed.  Being  out  of  the  State  in  his  evangelistic  work,  he  be- 
lieved that  some  one  ought  to  keep  the  Home  close  to  the  pockets  of 
Georgians,  and  he  joined  with  the  trustees  in  asking  that  Rev.  How- 
ard L.  Crumley  should  be  his  associate.  He  held  a  nominal  appoint- 
ment for  two  years. 

At  the  end  of  two  years  Bishop  Haygood  decided  that  he  had  no 
right  under  the  laws  of  the  church  to  appoint  Mr.  Jones  to  the 
agency,  as  his  time  was  not  spent  with  the  work  of  the  Home,  so 
Mr.  Jones  located  in  December,  1893,  in  order  to  devote  all  of  his 
time  to  the  evangelistic  work. 

There  had  arisen  some  technicality  regarding  his  taking  a  regular 
appointment,  and  devoting  his  time  to  revival  work.  A  few  heated 
discussions  before  and  after  the  action  resulted.  The  brethren  of  the 
conference  were  anxious  for  him  to  remain  one  of  them,  but  Mr. 
Jones  didn't  see  how  he  could  give  up  his  large  evangelistic  field 
and  confine  himself  to  a  single  pastorate. 

His  thousands  of  friends  regretted  very  much  that  he  severed  his 
official  connection  with  the  Orphanage,  but  until  the  time  of  his 
death  he  was  one  of  the  most  liberal  contributors  to  the  great  work. 
The  institution  was  always  very  dear  to  his  heart,  and  he  looked 
upon  his  services  there  among  the  greatest  that  he  rendered  to  suf- 
fering humanity. 

Mr.  Jones,  at  the  Augusta  Conference,  in  1885,  decided  that  with 
a  large  board  of  trustees,  the  business  could  be  more  easily  handled, 
and  had  the  conference  to  change  the  charter,  and  Messrs.  W.  A. 
Gregg,  Robert  A.  Hemphill  and  George  Muse  became  the  sole  trus- 
tees, the  agent  being  ex-oMcio  trustee.  The  plan  has  worked  ad- 
mirably. The  home  has  grown ;  from  two  to  three  hundred  desti- 
tute children  are  helped  each  year;  the  babies,  helpless  cripples,  and 
every  grade  of  moral  destitution  finds  a  welcome  in  the  Home, 
which  was  rescued  and  supported  by  Mr.  Jones  for  eleven  years. 

When  Mr.  Jones  gave  up  the  work  of  the  Orphanage,  the  com- 
mittee made  the  following  report : 

"Mr.  Jones  has  severed  all  official  relation  with  the  Orphans' 


Sam  p.  Jones.  99 

Home.  He  has  been  the  truest  friend  we  ever  had.  For  about  thir- 
teen years  he  has  been  its  father.  Never  did  the  cry  of  the  orphan 
go  unresponded  to.  For  many  years  he  met  the  drafts  from  his  own 
pocket.  He  built  the  main  building  and  chapel  and  stocked  the 
farm  and  met  every  claim.  The  orphans  look  with  admiration  upon 
his  life-sized  picture  that  adorns  the  sitting-room.  They  love  him 
and  with  sincere  sadness  suffer  the  separation.  This  throws  upon 
the  Home  the  additional  expense  of  one  thousand  dollars  which 
Brother  Jones  has  been  accustomed  to  meet.  The  whole  burden  of 
the  Home,  amounting  to  about  five  thousand  dollars  a  year,  rests  on 
the  conference.  They  are  your  children,  and  you  will  furnish  the 
live  thousand  dollars  needed.  Brother  Jones  has  so  long  raised  part 
of  this  outside  the  conference  that  it  will  seem  heavy  to  you.  But 
we  can  raise  it." 


CHAPTER  IX. 


His  Fame  Spreading. 

Mr.  Jones  had  preached  throughout  Georgia,  and  had  already 
come  into  prominence  as  an  evangehst.  While  he  had  not  preached 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  his  State,  yet  his  reputation  had  gone  be- 
fore him,  and  he  was  becoming  known  in  adjoining  States. 

In  the  great  meeting  held  in  Macon,  Ga.,  1881,  in  the  Methodist 
church,  with  Rev.  Jos.  S.  Key,  D.D.,  as  pastor,  Mr.  Jones  became 
intimately  acquainted  with  Rev.  A.  J.  Lamar,  pastor  of  one  of  the 
Baptist  churches  of  that  city.  After  this  Dr.  Lamar  accepted  a  call 
to  the  Central  Baptist  church  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  and  when  he  had 
gone  there  to  his  pastorate  there  was  a  meeting  of  the  general  pas- 
tors' conference  of  that  city  to  consider  the  question  of  holding  a 
great  union  revival,  and  after  deciding  to  have  the  union  revival 
there  came  the  more  important  question  of  who  would  be  a  suitable 
leader.  In  former  years  they  had  had  Earle,  Hammond,  Moody  and 
other  celebrities.  There  was  no  man  at  this  time  with  a  great  repu- 
tation who  was  available,  and  the  ministers  were  at  their  wits'  end. 

Finally  Dr.  Lamar  arose  and  said :  "Why  not  get  Sam  Jones  ?" 
And  immediately  the  question  came  up  :  "Who  is  Sam  Jones  ?"  Dr. 
Lamar  said :  "I  refer  you  to  Dr.  S.  A.  Steele,  or  Dr.  R.  H.  Mahon. 
Probably  they  can  tell  you  about  him,  as  he  is  a  Methodist,  and  a 
member  of  the  North  Georgia  Conference."  Both  of  these  minis- 
ters immediately  spoke  and  said  that  they  had  never  heard  of  Sam 
Jones.  "Well,"  said  Dr.  Lamar,  "he  is  the  most  unique  man  I  ever 
saw.  He  is  a  sensation  within  himself.  He  can  come  nearer  turn- 
ing the  city  upside  down  than  any  other  man  upon  this  continent. 
If  you  will  get  him  and  give  him  the  middle  of  the  road  he  will  stir 
up  things.  The  only  trouble  will  be  to  get  a  place  big  enough  to 
hold  the  audience." 


Sam  p.  Jones.  101 

After  much  discussion  it  was  finally  agreed  by  Drs.  Steele  and 
Mahon  to  correspond  with  Dr.  A.  G.  Haygood  and  find  out  some- 
thing more  about  the  Georgia  revivalist.  Whereupon  Dr.  S.  A. 
Steele,  pastor  of  the  First  Methodist  church  of  Memphis,  wrote  to 
Dr.  Haygood  (afterward  Bishop  Haygood),  stating  the  circum- 
stances, and  asking  if  the  preachers  of  Memphis  could  afford  to 
"carry"  Sam  Jones.     Dr.  Haygood  replied  in  this  laconic  manner: 

"Sam  Jones  is  a  Methodist  preacher 
Good  and  true. 
Give  him  a  chance  and  he'll 
Carry  you." 

The  reply  of  Dr.  Haygood  was  so  satisfactory  that  the  conference 
unanimously  instructed  Dr.  Lamar  to  write  and  extend  to  Mr.  Jones 
an  invitation  to  visit  Memphis. 

Mr.  Jones  accepted  the  invitation ;  reported  in  Memphis  on  Jan- 
uary 6,  1884.  Dr.  Lamar  met  him  at  the  Peabody  Hotel,  and  found 
Mr.  Jones  "joking"  with  some  commercial  travellers.  He  took  him 
home  with  him,  and  after  being  greeted  by  Mrs.  Lamar,  Mr.  Jones 
said:  "Sister  Lamar,  I  never  felt  so  far  from  home  in  all  my  life; 
and  aside  from  you  and  Brother  Lamar,  I  don't  know  a  soul  in  this 
great  city." 

Sunday  morning  he  preached  in  the  Central  Baptist  church  on 
"Prayer,"  and  captured  the  hearts  of  Dr.  Lamar's  people,  wliich 
made  the  pastor  very  happy. 

The  place  selected  for  the  union  meeting  was  the  Court  Street 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  that  being  the  largest  building  in 
the  city.  The  first  union  service  was  held  Sunday  afternoon,  and  the 
meetings  continued  for  five  weeks. 

The  first  two  weeks  of  the  meeting  was  up-hill  work,  in  spite  of 
the  immense  crowds  and  growing  interest.  The  lack  of  co-operation 
upon  the  part  of  the  preachers  discouraged  Mr.  Jones,  and  he  felt 
that  the  meeting  was  not  growing  in  power  as  it  should  have  done. 
Dr.  Lamar,  his  faithful  friend  and  helper,  went  to  his  room  on  Sat- 
urday night  and  found  him — to  use  Mr.  Jones's  own  expression — 
"under  the  juniper  tree."     Dr.  Lamar  was  surprised  and  grieved  to 


102  Sam  p.  Jones. 

find  Mr.  Jones  so  discouraged,  and  after  discussing  the  situation, 
they  resolved  to  take  Christ  at  his  own  word  when  he  said,  "If  two 
of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask, 
it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  And 
they  went  to  prayer. 

After  that  night  Mr.  Jones  began  preaching  with  renewed  vigor 
and  force;  and  on  the  next  Sunday  afternoon  (the  third  Sunday  of 
his  stay  in  Memphis)  his  preaching  produced  a  great  awakening. 
His  mianner,  style  and  use  of  the  language  of  the  common  people 
began  to  make  impression  upon  them.  He  gave  full  play  to  wit, 
humor  and  pathos;  sometimes  his  audience  was  convulsed  with 
laughter,  at  other  times  angry,  then  by  his  pathos  he  moved  them  all 
to  tears.  The  people  went  away  talking,  wondering  and  criticising, 
for  they  had  never  heard  the  like.  The  preachers  were  shocked  by 
bis  plainness  of  speech  and  chagrined  at  his  arraignment  of  them  for 
their  lack  of  power.  While  they  winced  under  his  reference  to  them 
they  took  it  as  good-naturedly  as  they  could,  and  they,  too,  were 
becoming  more  and  more  convinced  of  his  way  of  thinking. 

The  crowds  had  grown  daily  until  the  building  ceased  to  be  large 
enough  to  accommodate  the  audiences  that  gathered.  Then  Dr. 
Lamar  and  Mr.  Jones  discussed  the  propriety  and  advisability  of  a 
men's  meeting,  in  order  that  they  might  have  greater  results.  Such 
meetings  were  not  known  in  the  South  at  that  time.  Perhaps  in  the 
Western  States  and  in  some  of  the  Northern  States  such  meetings 
had  been  held.  A  great  many  prophesied  that  it  would  be  a  failure 
in  attendance  and  results ;  but  v^^hen  the  hour  for  services  came  the 
streets  were  crowded  with  men  going  to  the  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church.  Soon  the  auditorium  was  filled  and  standing-room  was 
at  a  premium.  When  Mr.  Jones  entered  the  building  and  saw  the 
immense  audience,  he  was  inspired  with  the  scene,  and  ready  for 
the  services.  The  flash  of  his  wonderful  eyes  and  the  great  spirit 
that  imbued  him  with  power  made  his  words  almost  irresistible. 
He  preached  that  powerful  sermon,  "Escape  for  Thy  Life,"  his  text 
being  taken  from  the  nineteenth  chapter  of  Genesis  and  the  seven- 
teenth verse. 

It  is  a  strange  coincidence  that  in  his  last  great  men's  m.eeting  in 


Sam  p.  Jones.  103 

Oklahoma  City,  when  there  were  from  six  to  seven  thousand  men 
powerfully  and  tremendously  moved,  when  thousands  of  men  came 
forward  and  shook  hands  with  him,  pledging  God  a  better  life,  that 
he  should  have  used  the  same  text  that  he  used  in  his  first  great 
men's  meeting  in  Memphis. 

Mr.  Jones  spoke  but  a  few  words  before  he  had  the  undivided  at- 
tention and  sympathy  of  all  his  hearers,  and  the  interest  grew 
deeper  as  he  proceeded ;  and  at  times  reached  an  intense  degree  of 
enthusiasm.  We  shall,  perhaps,  not  exaggerate  when  we  say  that 
none  present  had  ever  heard  the  truth  so  fearlessly,  so  earnestly,  so 
tenderly,  so  faithfully  preached.  The  common  sins  of  men  were 
held  up  in  all  their  wickedness  and  deformity,  and  strong  men  trem- 
bled as  they  listened  to  the  fullest  exposure  of  their  wickedness.  At 
times  the  audience  roared  with  laughter.  At  times  they  burst  out  in 
applause,  and  when  the  speaker  closed,  under  the  power  of  his  won- 
derful pathos,  nine-tenths  of  all  the  men  present  were  in  tears.  We 
doubt  if  any  one  present  ever  saw  so  many  men  brought  to  tears. 
As  he  concluded  this  wonderful  sermon  Mr.  Jones  said :  "Every  one 
here  who  feels  that  he  needs  God's  mercy  and  desires  a  better  life  let 
him  fall  down  and  engage  with  us  in  this  closing  prayer." 

Instantly  the  vast  audience  fell  down  upon  their  knees,  and  there 
were  not  twenty  men  out  of  the  multitude  who  did  not  respond  to 
this  appeal.    It  was  an  inspiring  scene. 

This  men's  meeting  was  the  turning  point  in  the  revival.  The 
backbone  of  opposition  had  been  broken.  The  whole  town  had 
been  won  by  the  evangelist,  and  the  throngs  that  came  to  hear  him 
hung  upon  his  words. 

The  newspapers  took  up  the  meetings  and  gave  much  time  and 
space  to  them.  The  services  became  the  talk  of  the  town.  On  the 
streets,  in  the  stores,  at  the  shops,  in  the  homes,  "Sam  Jones"  and 
the  revival  were  the  subjects  of  almost  all  conversations. 

The  churches  in  Memphis  previous  to  this  revival  show  that  relig- 
ion was  at  a  rather  low  ebb.  The  C ommerical-Appeal  says :  "The 
various  churches  in  Memphis  of  late  years  seem  too  much  disposed 
to  act  upon  the  supposition  that  their  respective  denominations  were 
close  corporations,  intended  for  the  worship  of  those  already  saved, 


104  Sam  p.  Jones. 

instead  of  making  new  converts  and  adding  new  members  to  the 
churches. 

"Recently  a  Memphis  minister,  zealous  in  his  work,  deplored  that 
the  ministers  and  the  churches  had  not  accomplished  more  in  the 
past,  and  expressed  the  startling  opinion  that  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars  had  been  spent  in  Memphis  by  the  various  religious  denomi- 
nations, and  that  notwithstanding  this  vast  expenditure  of  money  all 
of  the  churches  had  not  gained  more  than  one  hundred  converts. 
But  the  minister  of  four  weeks  ago,  who  regretted  that  so  little  had 
been  accomplished  by  the  expenditure  of  so  much  money  for  church 
purposes,  will  find  much  consolation  in  the  result  of  the  union  meet- 
ings in  progress  in  this  city.  It  showed  that  in  union  there  is 
strength;  for  so  soon  as  the  various  denominations  forgot  their 
creeds  and  united  their  forces  they  accomplished  what  they  failed  to 
do  when  divided.  These  meetings  were  a  tribute  to  Christianity 
from  the  different  denominations  engaged  in  the  work.  Much  good 
has  been  accomplished  by  their  harmonious  action." 

While  the  weather  was,  perhaps,  the  most  inclement  ever  known 
in  that  latitude,  with  the  rain,  hail,  sleet  and  snow  constantly  falling, 
it  did  not  prevent  the  people  from  coming  out  in  great  numbers. 
There  was  a  constant  stream  of  wet  and  shivering  humanity  pouring 
into  the  great  auditorium  day  and  night,  until  there  wasn't  standing- 
room.  This  unique  preacher,  "the  Georgia  evangelist,"  attracted 
and  interested  the  people. 

The  Commercial-Appeal  says  :  "The  crowd  increased  as  his  repu- 
tation spread  over  the  city,  and  if  he  should  continue  his  labors,  it 
would  require  the  exposition  building  to  hold  the  people  anxious  to 
hear  him.  His  power  over  the  people  is  a  mystery.  Peculiarity  is 
said  to  be  the  primary  quality  of  greatness,  that  the  property  a  man 
has  in  common  with  other  men  will  never  attract  the  world,  and  to 
be  distinguished  one  must  exhibit  some  rare  peculiarity.  Mr.  Jones 
certainly  has  remarkable  characteristics,  but  it  would  be  difficult  to 
define  them.  He  is  no  sky-scraper,  but  wholly  devoid  of  fustin  and 
rant;  never  stands  on  tip-toe  with  hands  stretched  aloft  as  if  he 
would  pull  down  the  stars. 

"His  language  is  transparent  in  its  simplicity,  but  all  his  Intel- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  105- 

lectual  powers  so  admirably  mixed  and  blended  are  brought  into 
requisition  in  every  sermon,  and  their  action  is  delightfully  harmo- 
nious. There  is  neither  too  much  nor  too  little  of  any  given  quality. 
The  judgment  and  the  imagination  are  in  perfect  equipoise.  As  he 
speaks  his  soul  seems  to  be  a  fountain  of  living  water.  Much  of  his 
success  and  popularity  consists  in  understanding  human  nature,  and 
the  emotions  of  the  heart,  and  in  saying  what  his  hearers  have  often 
thought  but  never  before  heard  defined.  It  is  this  gift  which  enables 
him  to  reach  and  move  the  multitude. 

"Mr.  Jones  has  a  vivid  imagination,  but  his  illustrations  and  met- 
aphors are  simple,  pointed  and  applied  with  a  directness  and  pun- 
gency which  the  most  obtuse  can  understand.  The  imagination 
which  this  eminent  minister  developed  in  his  discourses  shows  that 
if  he  were  ambitious  for  fame  as  a  popular  orator  he  could  go  flam- 
ing through  the  land,  distributing  meteors  and  rainbows  while 
striding  from  cloud  to  cloud,  mountain  to  mountain,  and  star  to 
star.  His  eloquence,  however,  is  simple  and  pathetic,  reaches  every 
avenue  of  feeling  and  sympathy.  The  eloquent  bubbles  that  float 
and  dazzle  have  no  longer  life  than  the  cadence  of  the  singer,  but 
the  chords  that  Mr.  Jones  strikes  continue  to  vibrate  upon  the  soul." 

Mr.  Jones  also  held  a  service  especially  for  the  women.  The 
great  auditorium  was  crowded  to  its  utmost  capacity,  and  the  wo- 
men of  all  walks  of  life  were  seen  participating  in  the  seiwice.  The 
Commercial-Appeal  in  speaking  of  this  service,  said :  "Yesterday 
morning  Court  Street  Church  was  literally  packed  with  Memphis 
ladies — even  the  gallery  was  full,  and  there  was  not  a  vacant  seat. 
many  were  heard  to  remark  that  'it  was  never  so  seen  in  Memphis,' 
and  there  was  probably  no  one  present  who  had  ever  seen  such  a  vast 
audience  of  women.  Except  the  pastors  and  Mr.  Jones,  there  were 
no  men  present.  Although  Mr.  Jones  was  not  feeling  well,  he  spoke 
three-quarters  of  an  hour,  and  held  the  undivided  attention  of  the 
audience  until  the  last  word  fell  from  his  lips.  He  was  listened  to 
amid  smiles  and  tears,  and  it  could  be  easily  seen  that  his  simple, 
earnest,  tender,  original  way  of  presenting  things  was  taking  deep 
hold  on  hundreds  of  hearts.  He  showed  the  auditors  why  they  were 
not  better  wives,  mothers  and  daughters ;  why  they  were  not  better 


106  Sam  P.  Jones. 

Christians ;  and  then  showed  how  in  all  these  things  they  could  grow 
and  expand  till  they  should  sweeten  their  homes,  save  their  husbands 
and  raise  up  children  to  call  them  blessed.  Any  child  of  ten  sum- 
mers could  understand  all  he  said.  His  illustrations  were  fresh, 
clear-cut,  very  impressive  and  long-to-be-remembered.  There  is  no 
question  that  hundreds  of  mothers,  wives  and  daughters  went  away 
from  the  meeting  with  a  resolution  deep  down  in  their  hearts  to  be 
and  do  better  in  all  the  relations  of  life." 

When  the  revival  finally  closed,  it  was  the  concensus  of  opinion 
that  it  was  the  greatest  ever  held  in  Memphis.  Mr.  Jones  had  estab- 
lished himself  as  an  evangelist  with  marvelous  gifts,  and  had  won 
for  himself  almost  national  prominence  in  the  religious  world.  The 
conversions  and  reclamations  ran  up  into  a  thousand  or  more,  while 
those  who  joined  the  different  churches  numbered  more  than  six 
hundred.  The  city  received  a  great  moral  uplifting,  and  was  great- 
ly stirred  religiously.  The  people  began  to  take  more  interest  in  the 
work  of  the  church  and  religion  seemed  to  be  on  the  increase. 

Dr.  S.  A.  Steele,  pastor  of  the  First  Methodist  church,  wrote  an 
article  to  the  Texas  Christian  Advocate  giving  some  characterization 
of  Mr,  Jones's  preaching.  Dr.  R.  H.  Mahon,  pastor  of  the  Central 
church,  wrote  to  the  Nashville  Christian  Advocate,  calling  attention 
to  his  gifts  and  graces.  His  fame  began  to  spread  in  every  direction, 
and  before  he  had  left  Memphis  he  had  received  a  great  many  let- 
ters from  various  sources,  asking  him  to  conduct  revival  meetings. 
He  completely  won  the  city  before  his  five  weeks  had  expired,  and  it 
was  with  great  sorrow  that  the  people  bade  him  good-by.  The 
Memphis  Avalanche  says :  "It  is  not  often  that  a  strange  minister 
can  ingratiate  himself  at  once  into  the  good  graces  of  a  community ; 
especially  is  this  true  of  the  class  called  evangelists.  As  a  general 
thing  the  evangelist  is  a  compound  of  piety  and  egotism ;  offensive 
in  his  mannerism,  conceited  with  his  prominence  and  affected  in  his 
preaching.  Those  who  have  been  looking  for  any  of  these  points  in 
Mr.  Jones  are  disappointed.  His  preaching  is  plain,  earnest  and 
true.  He  is  every  inch  a  preacher;  he  has  a  message  to  deliver  and 
he  does  so  in  words  that  reach  the  understanding  and  consciences  of 
his  hearers." 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  107 

Cartersville  had  heard  of  his  success  away  from  home,  and  was 
proud  of  the  reputation  that  he  had  made.  The  Cartersville  Amer- 
ican had  the  following  tribute  to  pay  Mr.  Jones  upon  his  arrival 
from  Memphis : 

"Sam  Jones  is  the  greatest  revivalist  the  South  has  ever  produced, 
r  never  saw  his  equal.  There  is  something  very  wonderful  about 
the  man.  He  can  jump  on  a  dry  goods  box  on  the  public  square  and 
commence  preaching,  and  in  five  minutes  every  barkeeper  and  street 
loafer  in  town  will  be  listening.  He  can  go  to  the  darkest  comer  of 
Pickens  county  and  the  most  ignorant  man  in  the  congregation  will 
understand  and  appreciate  his  sermon.  He  can  stand  up  before  the 
finest  city  church,  before  the  most  intelligent  audience  and  hold  them 
spellbound  by  his  eloquence.  He  can  appear  before  a  mixed  au- 
dience in  a  theater  and  silence  the  hissing  tongues  and  the  loud 
laugh  by  the  simple  story  of  the  cross.  'I  have  known  him  since  he 
was  a  wild,  rude,  dissipated  boy  on  the  streets  of  Cartersville.  Be- 
fore he  professed  religion  and  commenced  to  preach,  he  was  as 
common  as  any  boy  I  know.  He  has  loomed  into  importance  as  an 
evangelist  and  revivalist  until  he  stands  now  second  only  to  Tal- 
mage  and  Moody.  He  is  a  pale-faced,  spare-built,  dark-skinned 
man,  and  would  not  attract  the  second  glance  from  a  casual  ob- 
server. But  when  he  speaks  he  catches  the  ear  of  everybody,  and 
touches  the  heart  of  every  listener.  He  is  strikingly  original,  and 
his  imagination  is  rich  and  fertile,  his  illustrations  are  forcible  and 
pointed,  his  language  is  terse  and  strong,  his  appeals  are  touching 
and  pathetic,  and  his  powers  of  endurance  beyond  anything  I  ever 
saw.'  So  talked  a  gentleman  in  the  presence  of  the  editor  the  other 
day.  Mr.  Jones  is  a  wonderful  preacher.  His  recent  visit  to  Mem- 
phis was  attended  with  the  most  gracious  results.  Everywhere  he 
met  with  a  perfect  religious  ovation.  We  have  read  with  much 
pleasure  the  press  accounts  of  his  preaching.  We  are  proud  of  Sam 
Jones,  not  only  because  he  is  a  Cartersville  man,  but  because  he  is  a 
true  man,  an  earnest  preacher  and  a  friend  to  humanit}^  His  mis- 
sion on  earth  is  a  grand  one,  and  grandly  does  he  fill  it." 

Mr.  Jones  visited  Memphis  a  great  many  times  during  his  life. 
In  all  he  conducted  four  or  five  great  meetings  in  that  city,  anc? 


108  Sam  p.  Jones. 

never  lost  his  prestige  nor  power.  He  held  another  great  meeting 
in  1893  at  the  First  Methodist  church.  This  is  one  of  the  largest 
and  handsomest  auditoriums  in  the  South.  It  proved  entirely  too 
small  to  accommodate  the  great  crowds  that  went  to  hear  him  daily. 
The  doors  had  to  be  locked  at  an  early  hour,  and  there  was  always 
more  people  on  the  outside  of  the  building  than  could  be  accom- 
modated on  the  inside.  They  kicked  down  the  doors  once  or  twice 
trying  to  gain  admittance.  A  great  many  of  the  prominent  men 
who  are'  now  members  of  that  church  were  converted  or  reclaimed 
during  Mr.  Jones's  meetings.  The  Appeal- Avalanche  published  this 
editorial  in  reference  to  his  second  visit : 

"The  Rev.  Sam  Jones  during  his  sojourn  in  Memphis  entertained 
large  audiences,  and  has  stimulated  the  religious  sentiment  of  the 
community  in  Memphis.  It  is  understood  that  he  has  made  more 
than  two  thousand  converts.  He  came  among  us  and  scolded  the 
people  of  Memphis  for  their  derelictions.  He  spared  none.  He  told 
US  of  our  sins  of  omission  and  commission.  He  spoke  in  plain  terms, 
and  there  was  no  mistaking  his  meaning.  Let  us  hope  that  Memphis 
will  be  all  the  better  for  his  coming.  Our  faults  have  been  revealed 
to  us  and  the  vices  to  which  we  are  given  have  been  proclaimed. 
This  is  Sam  Jones's  way.  Memphis  has  been  handled  without 
gloves,  but  the  preacher  has  found  a  host  of  repentants  to  kneel  at 
the  altar.  Mr.  Jones  has  won  great  favor,  as  the  crowd  which 
f.ocked  to  the  First  Methodist  church  attested.  His  sermons  have 
been  as  lightning  purifying  the  atmosphere,  though  it  may  have 
been  violent  in  its  manifestations.  Mr.  Jones  will  go  hence  to  spread 
the  gospel.  He  will  visit  other  cities.  His  language  may  be  rude  at 
times,  but  it  will  penetrate  the  hearts  of  men,  and  while  the  fastidi- 
ous may  complain  as  they  have  always  complained,  the  fact  that  he 
brings  the  sinful  to  confess  their  sins  is  sufficient  to  justify  his 
methods.  Who  shall  dispute,  then,  when  souls  are  saved.  He  reached 
men  who  care  nothing  for  creeds.  He  does  not  indulge  in  doctrinal 
exposition.  He  does  seek  to  persuade  by  argument  so  much  that  he 
actually  moved  the  erring  to  acknowledgment  of  their  moral  ob- 
liquities, and  forced  them  to  their  knees  by  revealing  their  moral  de- 
formities.    Who  shall  say  that  he  does  not  fill  a  legitimate  sphere 


Sam  p.  Jon^.  109 

as  a  preacher?  Other  preachers  may  find  success  in  other  means 
for  the  form  of  humanity,  but  Mr.  Jones  attacks  the  citadel  of  sin 
in  his  own  way.  It  is  simply  a  question  of  results.  If  the  two  thou- 
sand converts  or  even  a  small  proportion  cling  to  the  good  resolves 
made  by  them  under  the  spell  of  his  eloquence  the  world  is  so  much 
the  better.  Mr.  Jones  has  had  many  hard  things  to  say  of  Memphis. 
He  has  indulged  in  denunciation.  He  has  attacked  evil  in  the  ab- 
stract and  in  the  concrete.  He  has  been  general  and  he  has  been 
specific.  He  has  wounded  our  spirit  of  local  pride.  He  has  pictured 
in  vivid  colors  our  wickedness.  But  he  has  done  us  good,  and  we 
may  have  the  consolation  that  he  assails  other  cities  in  similar  fash- 
ion. We  may  not  be  quite  so  black  as  he  has  painted  us,  but  no  mat- 
ter .  He  has  caused  the  people  to  look  to  hig^her  and  better  things, 
and  though  he  shall  depart,  his  visit  will  be  remembered  as  having 
promoted  and  advanced  the  well-being  of  the  comm.unity.  He  is  in 
some  respects  the  most  extraordinary  preacher  the  world  has  ever 
known.  He  has  spoken  three  times  a  day  almost  for  a  decade  and 
a  half.  He  rarely  repeats  himself  to  the  same  audience.  Therefore, 
as  an  orator  he  is  without  parallel,  so  far  as  sustained  effort  is  con- 
cerned. It  is  to  be  hoped  that  Mr.  Jones  will  keep  his  eye  on  Mem- 
phis, and  that  he  may  return  whenever  he  finds  that  the  city  has  be- 
gun to  backslide.  Memphis  seems  to  need  Mr.  Jones's  preaching. 
This  is  come  to  be  a  general  opinion  both  at  home  and  abroad.  The 
reformation  that  he  has  inaugurated  should  be  permanent." 

He  held  meetings  in  the  great  Memphis  auditorium  which  were 
truly  marvelous  in  stirring  up  the  consciences  of  the  people  and  in 
bringing  about  a  much-needed  reformation.  The  immense  gather- 
ings could  not  be  taken  care  of  at  any  time  during  his  ministry  in 
Memphis.  No  building  with  seating  capacity  ever  so  large  would 
hold  the  great  crowds  that  assembled  to  hear  him.  His  last  meet- 
ing was  held  in  the  First  Methodist  church,  just  a  few  years  ago, 
and  perhaps  for  religious  fervor  and  deep  conviction  and  bringing 
people  into  the  church  that  was  as  successful  a  meeting  as  any  held 
by  him  in  Memphis.  Several  hundred  joined  the  First  church  on 
Sunday  after  the  meeting  closed,  while  the  other  churches  were 
strengthened  by  many  accessions  from  the  meeting. 


110  Sam  p.  Jones. 

In  closing  the  chapter  on  the  work  in  Memphis,  we  insert  the 
testimony  of  the  old  sexton  who  commended  Brother  Jones's  style 
of  preaching,  as  it  impressed  him  during  his  first  meeting  in  the  city. 
We  will  give  the  account  as  Mr.  Jones  told  it : 

"A  very  laughable,  yet  forcible  incident  occurred  during  the 
revival  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  in  Court  Street  Cumberland  Presbyte- 
rian church  one  morning.  The  services  had  been  going  on  for  about 
three  weeks  with  great  power;  hundreds  had  been  converted  and 
the  churches  awakened.  The  meeting  was  a  union  meeting,  thirteen 
pastors  and  congregations,  representing  five  different  denominations 
were  united  in  the  fight;  and  on  this  occasion  we  had  what  we  called 
a  talking  meeting.  The  pastor  of  the  First  Methodist  church  made  a 
short,  pointed  talk,  in  which  he  told  how  the  meeting  had  been  a 
blessing  to  him.  Other  pastors  followed,  and  when  the  pastor  of  the 
First  Baptist  told  how  he  and  all  his  church  had  been  blessed,  he 
continued  by  saying  that  he  had  learned  something  about  how  to 
preach  also.  He  said  that  in  three  weeks'  preaching  of  Mr.  Jones 
in  that  city  he  had  not  heard  a  single  attempt  on  the  part  of  the 
preacher  to  prove  that  there  was  a  God,  or  that  Christ  was  divine. 
There  had  been  no  hair-splitting  on  theolog}^  or  an  effort  to  prove 
that  heaven  was  real  and  hell  existing,  and  so  on. 

"After  he  sat  down,  old  Uncle  Ben,  the  faithful  old  colored  sex- 
ton of  the  First  Methodist  church,  stood  up  in  the  rear  of  the  church 
and  said :  'Brethren,  you  all  know  me.  I  have  been  trying  to  serve 
God  from  my  childhood,  and  I  have  been  greatly  exercised  in  the 
last  few  years  for  the  salvation  of  the  perishing  souls  of  Memphis. 
On  my  knees  I  have  begged  God  to  send  just  such  a  preacher  as  this 
to  Memphis,  though  I  didn't  know  who  he  was  or  cared  who  he  was. 
Now,  he  has  come,  thank  God  for  him !  He  preaches  the  gospel  so 
that  every  one  can  hear  it ;  he  feeds  me,  he  feeds  the  young  and  the 
old ;  the  learned  and  the  unlearned.  Our  pastors  have  been  putting 
the  fodder  too  high.  I  remember  when  Brother  Mahofi  was  our 
pastor  last  year,  I  looked  into  his  study  one  morning  and  he  had  five 
books  lying  open  around  him  on  the  table,  and  I  said  :  "Brother  Ma- 
hon,  if  you  get  one  sermon  out  of  five  different  books,  you  are  going 
to  put  your  fodder  up  Sunday  morning  where  I  can't  reach  it ;  for. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  Ill 

1  said  'I've  gone  to  church  hungry  on  Sunday  morning  and  come 
away  hungry;  fodder  too  high  for  me.'  But  this  man  of  God 
scatters  the  fodder  on  the  ground  and  we  all  can  reach  it,  and  we 
also  relish  it."  And  so  Uncle  Ben  went  on  in  his  rambling  talk  until 
he  had  made  as  fine  an  argument  for  homiletics,  many  said,  as  they 
had  ever  listened  to." 


CHAPTER  X. 


Revivals  in  Southern  Towns. 

It  was  not  possible  for  Mr.  Jones  to  give  his  entire  time  to  the 
work  of  an  evangehst  during  the  years  1884-5.  At  that  time  he 
was  the  agent  for  the  Orphanage  of  the  North  Georgia  Conference, 
and  had  to  devote  much  of  his  labors  to  that  institution.  He  held 
revival  meetings  as  often  as  his  work  at  the  Orphanage  would 
permit. 

In  Georgia  he  held  meetings  at  LaGrange,  Newnan  and  Atlanta. 
These  were  the  second  visits  tO'  these  places.  In  Tennessee  he  held 
a  remarkable  meeting  in  1884  at  Jackson.  After  the  first  few  days, 
the  building  was  so  small  that  it  would  not  accommodate  a  fourth 
of  the  people  who  wished  to  attend  the  services.  He  was  also  at 
Charleston,  S.  C,  during  this  period,  and  held  a  meeting  that  stirred 
the  entire  city.  He  visited  Waco,  Texas,  and  preached  eight  days, 
when  he  was  taken  seriously  ill  Vv^ith  malarial  fever.  The  meeting 
had  grown  in  interest  until  there  was  no  place  large  enough  to  ac- 
commodate the  audience,  and  a  great  arbor  had  been  hurriedly 
erected  on  the  church  lot,  the  money  for  the  temporary  building 
was  soon  subscribed,  and  in  a  short  while  it  was  ready  for  use. 
The  city  which  had  been  so  dead,  religiously,  was  filled  with  re- 
ligious enthusiasm  within  one  week  from  the  first  service.  The 
conversions  were  many  at  every  service,  and  sometimes  there  vrere 
more  than  one  hundred  penitents  forward  for  prayer. 

Mr.  Jones  had  been  preaching  constantly  for  weeks  and  the  heavy 
work  in  the  open  air  was  too  much  for  his  strength,  and  he  was  sud- 
denly attacked  with  fever  and  the  meeting  was  postponed,  but  he 
finally  recovered  his  health  and  returned  to  Waco  and  completed 
his  work.  There  was  an  experience  in  his  life,  while  in  this  first 
meeting,  which  is  worthy  of  note.     He  had  been  battling  with  the 

(112) 


Sam  p.  Jones.  .113 

disease,  and  the  devil  was  harrassing  him  day  and  night,  as  he  did 
Job  of  old.  He  seemed  to  say  to  him,  "You  will  die  right  here; 
you  have  not  enough  vital  force  to  live."  He  seemed  to  be  present 
in  bodily  form.  Mr.  Jones  replied,  "Get  out  of  this  room ;  if  I  had 
to  go  over  it  all  again  I  would  not  work  any  less,  but  would  spend 
more  time  and  strength  in  my  Master's  service.  I  don't  know  but 
that  my  work  is  ended,  but  I  am  happy,  and  if  I  die  I  shall  be  happy 
forevermore."  The  devil  left  the  room,  and  Mr.  Jones  in  his  suffer- 
ing was  happy  at  the  thought  that  he  had  worked  hard  and  faithful 
to  win  souls  to  Christ. 

He  held  several  meetings  between  Memphis  and  Chattanooga 
which  were  remarkable  in  their  results.  At  Corinth,  Miss.,  there 
was  a  great  work.  The  town  was  known  for  its  wickedness,  and 
the  meeting  coinpletely  changed  the  tone  of  the  place.  Among  the 
converts  were  some  of  the  most  abandoned  drunkards  in  the  city. 
The  meeting  took  a  strong  hold  upon  the  leading  citizens,  and 
many  of  them  were  converted  and  became  useful  members  of  the 
church.  Two-thirds  of  the  population  had  been  won  to  Christ  dur- 
ing the  meeting.  The  Honorable  Mr.  Inge,  the  Speaker  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi House  of  Representatives,  resided  at  Corinth,  and  was  one 
of  the  converts  of  the  meeting. 

Mrs.  Inge  had  a  son  in  Texas  who  was  dissipated  and  wicked. 
She  prayed  God  to  save  him,  and  before  the  meeting  closed  he  came 
home  and  was  happily  converted.  He  soon  entered  the  ministry, 
and  all  over  Mississippi  the  name  of  Rev.  George  Inge  became  a 
household  word.  He  died  a  few  years  ago  after  a  very  fruitful 
ministry. 

One  of  the  most  thrilling  experiences  of  his  life  occurred  there. 
He  had  become  so  wearied  and  tired  from  constant  preaching  that 
one  night  going  to  church  he  said:  "I  am  so  tired  I  can  not  stand 
up  and  preach  this  evening.  I  shall  ask  the  people  if  they  will 
allow  me  to  sit  down  and  talk  to  them."  Upon  announcing  his 
text  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  came  upon  him,  and  when  he 
had  finished  the  sermon,  and  had  concluded  a  long  altar  service,  he 
went  away  from  the  church,  saying:  "I  feel  as  if  I  were  the  best 
rested  man  on  earth."    That  night  in  his  room  the  Holy  Spirit  con- 

J5i 


114  Sam  p.  Jones. 

tinued  to  bless  him,  until  he  cried  out :  ''This  is  glorious,  the  breezes 
of  heaven  are  sweeping  in  upon  my  soul,''  For  ten  minutes  or 
more  these  waves  of  blessing  passed  over  his  spirit,  and  for  three 
months  or  more  he  didn't  know  the  sense  of  fatigue  as  he  labored 
day  and  night  for  the  salvation  of  the  lost. 

At  luka,  Miss.,  another  marvelous  meeting  was  held.  A  large 
bush  arbor  was  erected  in  the  grove.  Seats  were  arranged  for  two 
thousand  or  more,  and  yet  there  was  not  room.  The  people  came 
in  on  the  trains  from  every  direction,  and  the  power  of  the  Spirit 
was  evident  at  each  service. 

One  of  the  most  striking  incidents  of  the  luka  meetings  was  the 
conversion  of  Dr.  Hodges.  Mr.  Jones  met  him  at  the  Springs  the 
morning  after  he  arrived.  Dr.  Hodges  was  a  retired,  wealthy 
physician,  about  fifty  years  of  age,  and  a  perfect  Chesterfield  in  his 
bearing.  His  wife  was  intelligent  and  beautiful.  They  attracted 
Mr.  Jones's  attention,  and  as  they  left  the  Springs  the  pastor  said, 
"Brother  Jones,  that  man  is  an  atheist  and  his  wife  is  an  infidel." 
They  were  regular  attendants  at  the  meetings.  After  three  days 
Mr.  Jones  asked  him  to  come  to  the  altar  and  give  his  heart  to 
God.  Dr.  Hodges  replied,  "You  go  back  to  the  pulpit  and  read 
Hebrews  ii  :8-9-io."  Mr.  Jones  returned  to  the  pulpit  and  opened 
the  Bible,  and  read  as  requested,  "By  faith  Abraham,  when  he  was 
called  to  go  out  into  a  place,  which  he  should  after  receive  for  an 
inheritance,  obeyed;  and  he  went  out,  not  knovWng  whither  he 
went.  By  faith  he  sojourned  in  the  land  of  promise,  in  a  strange 
country,  dwelling  in  tabernacles  with  Isaac  and  Jacob,  the  heirs  with 
him  of  the  promise.  For  he  looked  for  a  city,  which  hath  founda- 
tions, whose  builder  and  maker  is  God."  Dr.  Hodges  arose  and 
went  forward,  giving  Mr.  Jones  his  hand,  and  turning  around 
faced  the  audience  and  said,  "I,  too,  like  Abraham  of  old,  will  take 
God  at  His  word,  and  start  out  for  a  strange  countiy,  not  knowing 
whither  I  go,  looking  for  a  city,  whose  maker  is  God."  The  great 
audience  was  powerfully  moved,  and  Mrs.  Hodges  arose  and  went 
to  the  front,  throwing  her  arms  around  her  husband's  neck,  and  said, 
"My  husband's  God  shall  be  my  God ;  his  people  shall  be  my  people, 
and  his  burying-place  my  burying-place."  They  were  both  happily 
converted. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  115 

In  after-years,  while  Mr.  Jones  was  preaching  in  Cahfomia,  he 
received  a  letter  from  Dr.  Hodges  saying,  "My  precious  wife  has 
gone  on  to  'the  city  whose  builder  is  God,'  and  I  am  sojourning 
alone:  in  'the  tabernacle.'  "  It  was  only  a  few  years  afterwards  that 
Mr.  Jones  had  a  letter  from  a  friend  in  Mississippi  saying,  "Dr. 
Hodges  died  triumphantly,  and  has  gone  home.'' 

At  Tuscumbia,  Ala.,  he  held  a  large  bush-arbor  meeting.  Three 
and  four  services  were  held  daily,  and  people  came  in  from  all  parts 
of  the  country.  Some  of  the  most  remarkable  manifestations  of  the 
presence  of  God  were  seen  in  that  arbor  meeting.  The  people  mar- 
veled at  the  results,  and  perhaps  the  secret  was  not  known  to  them ; 
however,  it  can  be  attributed  to  the  earnest  prayers  of  Mr.  Jones. 
The  great  audiences  that  he  preached  to  did  not  know  how  many 
times  he  wrestled  with  God  in  prayer  before  preaching.  Just  before 
the  greatest  manifestation  of  the  Spirit's  work,  Mr.  Jones  had  been 
very  earnest  in  prayer.  He  was  always  a  man  who  went  to  the 
throne  of  mercy  for  the  anointing  of  service.  His  child-like  faith 
enabled  him  to  take  God  at  His  word,  and  it  was  his  custom  to  pra}^ 
briefly,  unless  he  failed  to  get  the  assurance  of  victory.  A  friend 
of  his  said :  "Mr.  Jones,  how  is  it  that  you  do  not  spend  more  time 
in  secret  prayer,  for  I  know  you  are  sincere  and  honest,  and  a  man 
of  deep  piety,  but  you  do  not  stay  on  your  knees  as  much  as  some 
other  men  claim  to  do."  His  reply  was :  "I  go  to  the  Lord  in  the 
morning  for  my  orders  of  the  day,  and,  having  received  them,  I  go 
about  my  Master's  business.  I  don't  run  to  the  Lord  with  every  lit- 
tle thing,  but  the  good  Lord  understands  me,  and  when  He  sees 
me  drop  down  on  my  knees  He  knows  that  I  want  and  need  help, 
and  always  supplies  it." 

There  was  a  great  crisis  in  the  meeting,  and  he  met  it  by  a  long 
season  of  prayer. 

The  people  had  made  all  kinds  of  threats  against  him,  so  after 
the  night  service  he  walked  out  on  the  second-story  of  the  porch  and 
knelt  down  in  a  corner,  the  thick  vines  almost  hiding  him.  He 
reinained  there  until  midnight,  and  yet  no  assurance  of  victory. 
The  morning  hours  came,  and  he  was  still  on  his  knees.  He  had 
not  undressed  or  been  asleep  that  night.     The  great  audience  as- 


116  Sam  P.  Jones. 

sembled  for  the  six  o'clock  service;  perhaps  there  were  twenty-five 
huridred  present.  He  arose  to  preach,  and  such  power  came  upon 
the  people  that  the  town  was  won  to  God. 

Another  meeting  was  at  Huntsville.  A  marvelous  work  of  grace 
resulted.  All  the  churches  cooperated  very  earnestly  in  the  work, 
and  were  greatly  built  up  by  the  direct  accessions  from  the  meeting. 
Here  Mr.  Jones  had  much  to  say  about  the  liquor  traffic.  He  went 
personally  to  a  leading  barkeeper  in  the  town  and  said :  "I  will 
steal  before  I  will  sell  whisky."  The  barkeeper  got  angry.  Mr. 
Jones  said :  "Over  there  on  that  hill  lives  a  poor  woman.  You  sold 
her  husband  the  liquor  that  made  him:  a  drunkard.  He  died  in  :i 
drunken  condition,  and  went  to  a  drunkard's  hell.  One  of  her  boys 
is  now  in  prison,  and  the  other  one  has  left  home  because  of  his 
waywardness.  I  want  to  ask  you,  sir,  which  is  the  worst,  to  damn 
that  husband  and  ruin  that  family,  and  break  that  mother's  hearr 
as  you  have  done,  or  to  steal  money?"  The  saloon-keeper  could  not 
resist  such  logic,  and  turned  away,  saying:  "I  don't  want  to  discuss 
the  subject  with  you." 

The  conversions  multiplied  from  day  to  day,  and  the  meeting 
reached  a  climax  in  a  great  service  for  the  men.  After  Mr.  Jones 
preached  to  them  he  extended  an  invitation,  and  one  who  was 
present  said :  "There  were  from  one  thousand  to  twelve  hundred 
men  bending  their  knees  before  the  altar  of  God.  It  was  the  most 
remarkable  event  that  ever  occurred  in  the  history  of  Huntsville. 
It  was  a  grand  sight,  and  its  solemnity  impressed  the  most  wayward 
that  there  was  a  God,  and  that  He  is  ever  ready  tO'  save  and  bless 
the  unredeemed." 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  conversions  was  that  of  a  leading 
citizen,  who  took  Mr.  Jones  aside  and  said:  "I  want  to  be  a 
Christian,  I  want  to  love  God  and  do  right,  but  I  can't  believe  in 
the  divinity  of  Christ  to  save  my  life."  "Shut  your  mouth,''  said 
Mr.  Jones,  "don't  come  to  me  with  talk  like  that;  do  just  as  Christ 
told  you  to  do,  and  if  you  don't  make  the  landing  I'll  swim  out  to 
you  and  drown  with  you."  "Well,"  said  the  man,  "what  would 
you  have  me  to  do?"  Mr.  Jones  replied:  "Come  to  the  meeting 
to-night,  and  when  I  call  for  sinners  you  be  the  first  one  to  come 


mi 

m 

i 

f',  v'V-' 

'  '^ 

w 

't'  ;'  ■ ' 

'  1 

h3 

1— 1 

t'j 

> 

'''"'., 

^ 

'  ' 

P 

■| 

< 

-K^ 

hJ 

K 
W 

1— 1 
Eh 

o 

hH 

-i 

■ 

■  ■^•y*^   ^^ Li. 


■>>'   ^'■^laa^Mi 


REV.  SAM  P.  JONES  AT  38. 


.    Sam  p.  Jones.  117 

forward.  When  the  doors  of  the  church  are  opened  you  join."  The 
gentleman  rephed:  "What,  join  the  church  when  I  can't  beheve!" 
"Now,"  said  Mr.  Jones,  "I  told  you  to  keep  your  mouth  shut,  I  am 
prescribing  for  you,  and  you  take  the  remedy,  and  I'll  warrant  the 
cure.''  That  night  he  walked  up  and  joined  the  church.  Mr.  Jones 
said  to  him  :  "Go  home  now  and  have  family  prayer,  and  come  back 
to  the  service  to-morrow,  and  I'll  ask  you  to  pray  in  public;  I'll  get 
you  straightened  out  if  you  will  just  keep  your  mouth  shut."  That 
night  he  had  family  prayer,  and  started  right ;  then  Mr.  Jones  called 
upon  him  to  pray  in  public,  and  he  offered  a  very  earnest  prayer.  He 
had  started  right,  and  a  few  months  afterwards,  when  Mr.  Jones 
went  back  to  Huntsville  for  a  special  service,  he  said :  "How  is 
Brother  Ford  getting  on?"  The  pastor  replied:  "He  is  one  of  the 
best  members  we  have."  "How  is  he  on  the  divinity  of  Christ?" 
"Oh,  he  has  quit  all  that  long  ago."  Mr.  Jones  always  believed 
that  if  a  man  would  put  himself  in  the  right  attitude  for  salvation 
that  God  would  lead  him  into  the  light.  It  was  true  in  this  man's 
life,  as  in  many  others  under  his  ministry. 

One  of  the  ministers  wrote  a  letter  to  the  editor  of  the  Christian 
Observer,  of  Louisville,  whereupon  the  editor  answered  in  a  very 
uncharitable  manner.  This  called  forth  another  letter  from  Rev. 
Flake  White.  It  is  such  an  unusual  letter  that  we  use  a  portion  of 
it.  Addressing  the  letter  to  the  editor  of  the  Christian  Observer,  he 
said :  "Yes,  I  got  your  letter  telling  me  not  to  write  you  any  more 
rhapsodies  of  Rev.  Sam  Jones,  revivalist,  that  when  you  wanted 
theology  you  preferred  taking  it  out  of  deep  old  wells  with  a  Gree]<: 
bucket  and  Hebrew  windlass.  Of  course  I  know  that,  and  how 
scholarly  your  defense  of  a  learned  clergy  has  always  been,  but  when 
you  hear  that  almost  every  friend  you  have  in  Huntsville  has  come 
to  Christ  through  this  man,  I  know  you  will  want  to  learn  more  of 
his  ways.  When  Mr.  Jones  (I  wish  his  name  had  been  Thomas 
Aquinas,  for  your  sake),  came  to  us  last  night  there  was  silence  in 
the  air,  then  there  was  a  keynote  from  no  uncertain  trumpet,  and 
we  were  all  at  his  feet.  There  was  such  simplicity  and  unhesitating 
straightforwardness  in  his  manner,  as  if  the  act  itself  was  the  law 
of  God.      It  seems   'foreordained.'      Suddenly  the  man,   who  has 


118  Sam  p.  Jon^s. 

quietly  thrilled  you,  is  making  you  laugh,  and  some  roughs  over 
there  in  the  corner  are  applauding,  and  a  moment  later  they  are 
weeping.  You  can't  help  either  the  laughter  or  the  tears.  He  makes 
Heaven  so  sweet  and  apostasy  so  sad,  and  tells  the  story  so  simply 
that  our  humanness  bubbles  over  without  measure.  Suddenly  he 
lifts  his  arm  like  a  cleaving  wing  and  Heaven  opens,  and  he  shades 
our  eyes  from  the  light  as  he  tells  us  in  panting  words  of  its  glories. 
You  remember  'Old  Martin'  of  the  coal-mines.  He  says,  as  the 
tears  run  down  his  dark  face,  'Mr.  Jones  has  got  sympathy  for 
folks.'  This  is  about  the  truth  of  the  matter.  He  loves,  pities  and 
pleads  with  sinners,  on  his  knees,  and  on  his  feet,  while  speaking  to 
them,  he,  is  like  a  warm  gulf-stream  which  melts  them  from  their 
anchors  and  floats  them  past  the  tide  of  mortal  to  the  sea  of 
hcc<.venly  love." 

At  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  he  conducted  a  marvelous  meeting.  While 
he  was  not  in  the  city  very  long,  the  work  was  far-reaching.  In 
order  to  make  room  for  the  people,  he  would  preach  to  the  women 
in  the  morning  and  to  the  men  in  the  evening.  Some  of  the  papers 
said  foolip'  things  in  the  beginning  of  the  meeting,  but  finally  gave 
faithful  rts  of  his  sermons,  which  helped  the  work  much.  The 
ballrooms  and  liquor  traffic  received  dangerous  wounds;  while 
they  were  not  killed,  they  were  considerably  crippled.  All  pastors, 
excep*-  the  Catholic  and  Episcopal,  rallied  around  him  to  a  man. 
Before  the  meeting  closed  the  conversions  numbered  over  five  hun- 
dred, and  more  than  four  hundred  had  joined  the  different  churches. 
There  were  great  numbers  who  joined  churches  after  the  meeting 
closed ;  however,  the  figures  do  not  indicate  a  tithe  of  the  good  done. 
Knoxville  had  been  converted,  and  the  leaven  of  the  Divine  in- 
fluences had  permeated  the  entire  community. 

At  Chattanooga  he  held  one  of  the  strangest  and  most  peculiar, 
yet  powerful,  meetings  in  his  life.  Dr.  G.  C.  Rankin,  who  was 
pastor  of  the  old  Market  Street  church,  tried  to  get  the  ministers 
of  the  other  denominations  to  join  him  in  an  invitation  to  Mr.  Jones 
for  a  union  revival.  Not  one  of  them;  was  willing  to  enter  into  such 
an  arrangement ;  then  Dr.  Rankin  invited  him  to  hold  the  meeting 
in  his  church.    The  newspapers  were  soon  full  of  the  proposed  meet- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  HD 

ing,  and  no  little  excitement  was  created  by  some  of  the  stories 
circulated.     One  of  the  reporters  said :    "If  Sam  Jones  cuts  and 
slashes  into  society  people,  as  we  understand  he  does,  during  his 
meeting,  we  are  going  after  him  without  mercy."    Dr.  Rankin  said : 
"All  right,  I  will  have  tables  inside  the  altar  railings  for  the  re- 
porters, and  they  can  have  a  fine  chance  at  him."    The  day  arrived 
for  the  meeting,  and  Mr.  Jones  and  the  pastor  started  to  the  church 
and  found  the  streets  packed  for  one  hundred  feet  with  people  try- 
ing to  crowd  into  the  building.    Finally  they  reached  the  pulpit,  and 
after  a  song  and  prayer,  Mr.  Jones  was  introduced.    He  referred  to 
the  singing,  saying:    "You  can  stop  that  singing,  I  could  take  two 
or  three  negroes  down  in  Georgia  and  beat  all  such  music  as  that." 
(Laughter.)  Then  leaning  on  his  hand  and  resting  with  his  elbow  on 
the  stand  in  his  inimitable  style,  he  stared  at  the  reporters  for  two 
or  three  minutes  without  a  word.    The  congregation  began  to  laugh, 
and  for  five  minutes  there  was  an  uproar.    Then,  without  changing 
his  position,  he  said  :  "My!  my!  I  would  not  mind  being  swallow  d 
by  a  whale,  but  to  be  nibbled  to  death  by  such  a  lot  of  tadpoles  as 
you  reporters  is  enough  to  give  a  man  the  jimjams."     The  con- 
gregation was  convulsed.    Then  he  said  :   "Boys,  I  know  the  threats 
of  some  of  you,  and  if  you  bother  me  you  will  hit  the  ground  run- 
ning.    I  will  have  four  shots  a  day  at  you,  while  you  will  only  get 
one  nibble  a  day  at  me,  and  if  you  can  stand  it  I  can."    V     \reached, 
and  at  the  night  service  the  audience  was  still  greater,  £  .a  n?  said : 
"Now,  the  next  service  will  be  at  six  o'clock  in  the  mom.  ^."    The 
people  went  away  feeling  that  no  one  would  be  present,  but  next 
morning  before  good  daylight  people  were  seen  flocking  1    "ards 
the  building  and  the  church  was  full,  and  you  could  scarcely  find  a 
vacant  seat.     He  preached  four  times  a  day,  and  the  people  were 
being  converted  at  every  service.    The  newspapers,  instead  of  carry- 
ing out  their  threats  filled  the  papers  with  his  sermons,  and  editorials 
rang  with  his  praises.     The  Associated  Press  took  up  his  sermons 
and  sent  them  broadcast  over  the  land. 

It  wasn't  long  until  the  saloon-keepers  and  the  worldlings,  and 
other  sinners,  were  fighting  the  movement.  The  preachers,  with  the 
exception  of  Dr.  Rankin,  became  scared,  and  Mr.  Jones  was  asked  to 


120  Sam  p.  Jones. 

meet  with  the  Ministerial  AlHance.  When  the  ministers  got  to- 
gether, one  after  another  arose  and  said  in  substance,  the  churches 
are  all  going  t';  .pieces.  After  each  one  had  presented  his  complaint, 
Dr.  Rankin  arose  and  said :  ''Brethren,  I  haven't  a  word  to  offer,  I 
haven't  a  word  to  say,  further  than  I  have  put  you  all  on  notice  be- 
fore Brother  Jones  came  that  this  meeting  would  reach  a  crisis,  and 
all  I  have  to  say  is,  I'll  die  in  my  tracks  before  I'll  forsake  him.'' 
During  the  entire  meeting  Mr.  Jones  didn't  open  his  rnouth,  and 
finally  the  conference  ended  and  each  minister  went  his  own  way, 
and  Mr.  Jones  went  back  to  his  room  at  the  parsonage.  Upon  reach- 
ing his  room,  he  knelt  down  by  his  bed  in  prayer.  He  remained  on 
his  knees  for  several  hours.  His  assistant  sat  there  and  looked 
through  a  great  stack  of  letters  until  the  room  became  so  awful  and 
the  picture  so  heartrending  that  he  got  up  and  walked  out  of  the 
room.  Finally  he  went  back  and  looked  in  again,  and  Mr.  Jones 
was  still  on  his  knees.  He  walked  off,  and  just  about  the  time  the 
sun  was  setting  he  walked  back  to  the  door,  and  still  Mr.  Jones  was 
on  his  knees.  He  hadn't  moved  since  he  first  dropped  down  by  his 
bedside.  Later  some  one  slipped  in,  lighted  the  gas  in  the  center  of 
the  room,  and  the  last  time  he  entered  the  room  Mr.  Jones  had 
risen  and  was  standing  under  the  gas  jet  with  a  countenance  of 
utter  despair,  when,  finally,  he  threw  his  hands  over  his  face,  and 
as  with  victor}^  in  sight,  he  walked  down  to  the  auditorium.  The 
news  had  gone  all  over  town  that  the  preachers  and  citizens  had 
asked  Mr.  Jones  to  change  his  manner  of  preaching.  The  streets 
were  literally  filled  with  people,  and  finally  Mr.  Jones  got  through 
the  crowd  and  entered  the  building  through  a  window.  A  great 
many  of  the  society  people,  saloon-keepers,  and  friends  of  the  liquor 
traffic,  came  out  to  see  if  he  would  retract  his  utterances.  He  began 
to  preach,  and  such  a  power  that  followed  that  sermon ;  gradually  he 
led  them  along,  imtil  he  saw  his  opportunity  to  let  the  people  hear 
what  he  had  to. say.  Finally,  he  exclaimed:  "I  know  I  have  been 
preaching  the  truth  here,  and  that  I  have  stirred  up  the  devil  and 
his  crowd.  I  have  this  to  say  about  the  liquor  traffic :  the  man  who 
will  drink  it  is  a  fool,  and  the  man  who  will  sell  it  is  an  infamous 
scoundrel,    and   church-members    who   will    rent   their   stores    for 


Sam  p.  Jones.  121 

saloons  and  will  give  their  sympathy  to  the  saloon-keepers,  are 
bigger  scoundrels  than  the  red-nosed  devil  that  drinks  it,  or  the  bull- 
neck  scoundrel  that  sells  it."  Under  these  witherii.g  words  those 
guilty  in  the  great  audience  writhed  in  agony,  and,  finally,  seeing  a 
saloon-keeper  drop  his  head,  he  said :  "I  don't  blame  you,  old  red- 
nosed  devil,  I'd  drop  my  head,  too."  Then,  standing  erect,  he  said : 
"Physically,  you  are  stronger  than  I,  and  you  might  take  me  over 
here  to  the  river  and  tie  my  body  to  a  rock  and  sink  me  to  the  bot- 
tom, or  you  might  act  a  coward  and  shoot  me  down,  but  I  put  you 
on  notice  right  here  that  you  will  have  to  do  that  before  you  will 
ever  still  my  tongue.  If  you  want  to  shoot  now  is  your  time — shoot 
— shoot."  His  dauntless  courage  and  the  anointing  of  the  Holy 
spirit  that  had  come  upon  him  while  spending  an  afternoon  in 
prayer  made  his  words  absolutely  irresistible,  and  from  that  night 
he  had  won  Chattanooga. 

After  that  night  the  preachers  joined  forces  with  him,  and  the 
meeting  was  no  longer  confined  to^  the  old  Market  Street  church, 
but  adjacent  churches  were  thrown  open  to^  overflow  meetings. 
Mr.  Jones  would  speak  at  one,  calling  penitents,  then  leave  these 
with  the  workers  and  go  to  another  church  and  preach  to  that 
crowd  and  call  for  penitents.  Other  times  he  would  send  those 
interested  in  their  soul  to  a  church  several  blocks  away,  and  when 
the  workers  arrived  they  would  find  the  building  crowded  with  those 
who  were  seeking  Christ. 

The  meeting  continued  to  grow  in  power  until  many  of  the  most 
prominent  men  of  the  city  had  been  converted,  and  when  his  time 
had  expired  the  citizens  besought  him,  to  postpone  other  engage- 
ments that  he  might  remain  with  them  for  a  few  days  longer.  The 
friendship  and  love  of  the  citizens  of  Chattanooga  for  Mr.  Jones 
increased  as  time  went  by,  and  some  of  the  warmest  friends  he  has 
in  the  world  are  the  converts  of  that  meeting. 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting  all  the  churches  received  many  memi- 
bers,  and  Dr.  Rankin  received  one  hundred  and  forty-eight,  most 
of  them  men  and  grown  young  men.  They  are  the  bone  and  sinew, 
many  of  them,  in  what  is  now  called  the  Centenary  church. 

As  Mr.  Jones  went  down  to  the  depot  he  passed  the  present 


J  22  Sam  P.  Jones. 

Centenary  church,  then  nearing  completion,  and  turning  to  the 
pastor  said :  "Rankin,  who  is  going  to  dedicate  that  church  for 
you?"  Dr.  Rankin  replied:  "I  guess  one  of  the  bishops."  Then, 
said  Mr.  Jones :  "Yes,  that's  the  way  you  do ;  when  you  have  a 
dirty  job  you  want  done,  Sam  Jones  is  good  enough  for  that,  but 
when  you  have  a  fine  church  to  dedicate  you  want  a  bishop." 

A  few  weeks  after  that  the  official  board  decided  to  invite  Mr. 
Jones  to  dedicate  the  church,  and  as  half  of  them  were  converts 
of  the  recent  meeting.  Dr.  Rankin  reluctantly  yielded  tO'  their  wishes, 
with  the  understanding  that  Dr.  J.  B.  McFerran  would  be  on  hand 
to  assist.  Mr.  Jones  preached  for  several  minutes  a  beautiful  and 
touching  sermon,  when  all  at  once  he  did  the  unexpected  thing. 
Looking  around  at  the  inside  of  the  edifice,  he  said :  "You  fellovv^s 
think  you  have  done  something  great  to  build  this  new  church. 
You  think  I  am  here  to  say  nice  things  to  you,  but  you  have  got 
the  wrong  sow  by  the  ear."  Dr.  Rankin's  heart  sank  within  him; 
then,  said  Mr.  Jones:  "How  much  do  you  pay  your  preacher?" 
Nobody  uttered  a  word.  "I  know  you  are  ashamed  to  tell,  but  spit 
it  out" ;  not  a  f^^ord.  Finally  he  said :  "Tom  Snow,  what  do  you 
pay  your  preacher?"  No  response.  "I  know  you  don't  want  to 
tell,  but  I  am  going  to  know."  At  last  a  rather  subdued  voice  said 
twelve  hundred  dollars.  Mr.  Jones  groaned  until  you  could  hear  him 
in  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  building.  The  audience  went  to 
pieces ;  the  pastor  was  covered  with  confusion.  After  the  uproar 
subsided  he  said :  "Well,  I  know  that's  all  Rankin  is  worth,  but  you 
ought  to  give  the  poor  fellow  something;  I  stayed  at  his  house  about 
a  week  when  I  was  here  in  that  meeting,  and  the  Lord  knows  that  I 
would  have  been  glad  if  somebody  had  sent  something  around 
there."  He  then  picked  up  the  thread  of  his  discourse  and  finished 
the  mose  helpful  sermon. 

The  next  day  there  were  two  dray-loads  of  things  driven  up  to 
the  parsonage  with  jocular  notes,  and  Monday  night  the  stewards 
met  and  raised  the  pastor's  salary  to  eighteen  hundred  dollars. 

So,  often  when  Mr.  Jones  would  go  off  on  a  tangent  like  that, 
people  would  imagine  that  he  had  spoiled  the  service,  but  the  results 


Sam  p.  Jon^  123 

that  followed  always  gave  evidence  of  the  wisdom  of  such  digres- 
sion. 

In  after-years  he  held  other  great  meetings  there,  which  were  al- 
ways attended  by  the  thousands,  and  resulted  in  great  good. 

In  his  last  meeting  there  at  the  close  of  his  sermon  to  men  nearly  a 
thousand,  by  actual  count,  came  forward  and  gave  him  their  hands, 
promising  to  lead  the  Christian  life.  He  lectured  in  the  city  fre- 
quently, and  also  took  part  in  a  campaign  against  the  saloons  in  re- 
cent years,  which  resulted  in  closing  the  saloons  of  the  city  at  ten 
o'clock  at  night. 

The  results  of  his  preaching  against  the  liquor  traffic  can  not  be 
estimated  in  this  world. 


CHAPTER  XL 


In  Brooklyn  with  Dr.  TaIvMage. 

It  was  in  January  of  1885  when  Mr.  Jones  held  a  month's  meeting 
in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y,,  with  Dr.  T.  DeWitt  Talmage,  in  the  famous 
Brooklyn  Tabernacle.  Soon  after  Mr,  Jones's  meeting  in  Mem- 
phis, Tenn.,  in  1884,  Dr.  Talmage  was  visiting  in  that  city  and 
heard  of  the  remarkable  work  there.  The  people  were  talking  the 
Sam  Jones  meeting  to  him,  and  he  became  specially  interested  in 
Mr.  Jones  and  his  work,  and  the  unique  and  manly  way  in  which  he 
had  preached  in  Memphis  appealed  to  the  noted  divine. 

It  wasn't  long  until  Mr.  Jones  received  an  invitation  from  Dr. 
Talmage  to  conduct  a  meeting  in  his  city.  Owing  to  previous  en-, 
gagements,  he  was  unable  to  go  until  the  first  of  the  following  year. 
Mr.  Jones  was  somewhat  apprehensive  of  his  visit  to  Brooklyn,  as  it 
wasn't  clear  in  his  mind  how  the  aristocratic  and  fashionable  audi- 
ence would  receive  him  and  his  style  of  preaching.  While  they  were 
used  to  the  sensational  preaching  of  Dr.  Talmage,  it  did  not  augur 
that  they  would  receive  his  plain,  homely  and  blunt  way  of  saying 
some  things.  The  newspapers  in  the  South  and  in  Brooklyn  and 
New  York,  had  right  much  to  say  about  the  proposed  visit.  The 
New  York  and  Brooklyn  papers  had  printed  and  circulated  some 
very  ridiculous  and  ludicrous  reports  about  him  and  his  work.  He 
left  home  in  time  to  meet  his  Brooklyn  appointment,  arriving  in 
New  York  City  early  Sunday  morning.  After  he  had  had  breakfast, 
he  went  over  to  Brooklyn,  reaching  there  about  nine-thirty  o'clock 
on  a  dreary,  rainy  day,  to  find  the  great  crowds  making  for  the 
Brooklyn  Tabernacle.  Dr.  Talmage  preached  Sunday  morning,  and 
the  meeting  proper  began  Sunday  evening.  Before  the  morning 
sermon  Mr.  Jones  met  Dr.  Talmage,  and  after  a  brief  conversation 
and  consultation  they  entered  the  pulpit  together. 

(124) 


Sam  p.  Jones.  125 

The  great  sea  of  upturned  faces  and  the  magnificent  sermon  that 
Dr.  Talmage  preached  greatly  impressed  Mr.  Jones.  He  said  it  was 
one  of  the  most  powerful  and  spiritual  of  any  he  had  ever  listened  to ; 
tliat  Dr.  Talmage  was  on  fire  with  zeal  and  enthusiasm  while  de- 
livering the  message  of  the  morning  hour. 

At  the  close  of  the  sermon  he  announced  that  the  revival  would 
begin  that  evening  at  the  usual  time  for  service.  He  introduced  Mr. 
Jones  to  his  audience,  and  spoke  of  him  in  the  very  highest  and  most 
complimentary  way. 

In  the  evening  when  Mr.  Jones  accompanied  Dr.  Talmage  into 
the  pulpit  he  was  greeted  by  an  audience  that  taxed  the  seating 
capacity  of  the  building. 

When  Dr.  Talmage  presented  him  to  the  audience  he  arose  and 
began  his  work  in  his  characteristic  way.  In  his  preliminary  re- 
marks he  said :  "Dr.  Talmage  has  introduced  me  as  the  Rev.  Samuel 
Porter  Jones,  of  Georgia.  Well,  I  am  just  plain  Sam  Jones.  I  am 
no  great  evangelist  in  the  sense  of  Munhall,  Moody  and  others,  but 
I  am  a  plain  Georgia  circuit-rider.  I  am  a  member  of  the  North 
Georgia  Conference,  and  received  my  appointment  just  like  any 
other  Methodist  preacher.  At  present  I  am  the  agent  for  the  North 
Georgia  Conference  Orphanage,  and  am  permitted  to  conduct  re- 
vival meetings  wherever  my  services  are  wished.  I  am  a  Method- 
ist, but  I  won't  find  any  fault  with  you  Presbyterians  and  others  if 
you  will  just  co-operate  with  me  in  this  meeting.  Remember,  I 
don't  want  your  endorsement;  in  fact,  I  don't  think  it  would  be 
worth  much  to  me,  but  just  co-operate  with  me,  and  let's  try  to  run 
the  devil  out  of  Brooklyn.  I  am  afraid  there  is  too  much  pride  in 
this  church  for  the  Lord  to  do  much  for  us.  If  you  people  and  Dr. 
Talmage  had  as  much  of  the  grace  of  the  Lord  in  your  hearts  as  you 
have  pride  you  wouldn't  need  a  little  sallow-faced  Georgia  preacher 
come  and  preach  to  you.  I  am  not  going  to  preach  like  Dr.  Tal- 
mage ;  I  am  going  to  preach  like  Sam  Jones.  There  is  no  use  in  my 
preaching  just  like  he  does.  If  his  preaching  would  convert  you, 
there  wouldn't  be  any  room  for  mine." 

These  words  being  received  with  considerable  merriment,  he  then 
turned  from  himself  and  Dr.  Talmage,  and  the  crowd  in  general,  to 


126  Sam  P.  Jon^s. 

the  deacons  of  the  church  and  asked  how  many  of  them  really  had 
any  acquaintance  with  the  congregation.  He  reminded  the  deacons 
that  they  couldn't  have  a  revival  until  they  became  personally  ac- 
quainted with  the  sinners  and  showed  them  that  they  had  their  soul's 
salvation  at  heart.  After  having  preached  for  them,  he  pronounced 
the  benediction,  and  the  audience  went  away  discussing  his  unique- 
ness, and  expressing  themselves  as  delighted  with  his  first  sermon. 
A  sun-rise  prayer-meeting  was  held  next  morning,  in  which  quite 
a  number  participated.  He  preached  again  at  eleven  o'clock  to  a 
larger  audience.  Monday  night  there  was  something  over  two  thou- 
sand in  attendance.  Mr.  Jones  in  a  letter  says :  "Our  meeting  last 
night  was  glorious ;  some  conversions.  Dr.  Talmage  and  his  church 
are  very  hopeful  and  full  of  faith.  The  rain  has  ceased,  and  I  think 
we  will  have  better  services  to-day.  Dr.  Talmage  and  I  spent  the 
afternoon  of  yesterday  together ;  he  takes  to  the  meeting  with  all  of 
his  heart."  On  Monday  after  the  first  service  Dr.  Talmage  and  Mr. 
Jones  walked  over  to  New  York.  Soon  Mr.  Jones  found  himself  in 
the  office  of  Dr.  Talmage's  tailor.  Dr.  Talmage  turning  to  the  tailor 
ordered  a  handsome  overcoat,  paid  thirty-five  dollars  for  it,  and 
handed  it  to  Mr.  Jones.  Mr.  Jones  accepted  it  with  thanks,  and  they 
walked  off  together  without  another  word  about  it.  This  gave  room 
for  the  story  that  has  been  widely  circulated  through  the  press  of 
the  country  to  the  effect  that  Dr.  Talmage  was  not  pleased  with  Mr. 
Jones's  pulpit  appearance,  and  before  his  first  sermon  presented  him 
with  a  suit  of  clothes  and  a  silk  hat,  and  Mr.  Jones  going  before  the 
audience  and  saying  upon  his  presentation  to  them,  "This  is  not 
Sam  Jones,  but  the  Rev.  Samuel  Porter  Jones.  This  is  not  the  suit 
that  he  wore  here,  but  one  that  your  pastor  bought  for  me.  This  is 
not  the  hat  I  wore,  but  the  silk  one  that  your  pastor  presented  to  me. 
Now,  if  Dr.  Talmage  had  as  much  grace  in  his  heart  as  he  has  pride 
he  wouldn't  have  needed  me  to  preach  to  you."  This  incident  never 
occurred,  but  the  gift  of  the  overcoat  mixed  up  with  some  utterances 
in  his  preliminary  remarks  was  taken  up  by  the  press  and  much  ex- 
aggerated and,  like  many  other  stories  which  were  almost  without 
foundation,  went  over  the  country.  These  exaggerated  episodes 
never  bothered  Mr.  Jones  as  a  rule,  and  it  was  only  occasionally  that 


Sam  p.  Jones.  127 

he  ever  contradicted  them,  unless  they  had  a  decidedly  bad  moral 
influence. 

While  the  Brooklyn  meeting  was  not  one  in  which  the  great 
dailies  took  undue  interest,  he  received  very  liberal  and  generous 
press  comments.  The  Brooklyn  Bagle  had  its  reporters  there,  and 
sometimes  gave  verbatim  reports  of  his  sermon,  and  always  had  a 
good,  lengthy  account  of  the  work.  Their  estimates  of  him  and  de- 
scriptions of  his  style  and  manner  were  very  sane  and  creditable. 
They  said  in  substance  what  the  great  papers  of  Memphis,  Atlanta, 
Nashville,  Charleston  and  other  cities  throughout  the  country  had 
said  concerning  him  and  his  work. 

The  crowd  continued  to  increase.  Writing  January  9th,  Mr. 
Jones  said : 

"Our  meeting  is  growing  in  interest  and  power  at  each  service. 
I  look  for  great  things.  A  score  or  more  have  already  joined  Dr. 
Talmage's  church.  There  was  no  service  on  the  first  Saturday  night 
and  Dr.  Talmage  again  preached  on  Sunday  morning." 

Mr.  Jones,  in  writing  January  12th,  said: 

"Dr.  Talmage  preached  one  of  the  most  powerful  sermons  yester- 
day morning  I  ever  heard.  His  soul  was  full,  and  he  moved  the 
vast  congregation  as  you  scarcely  ever  saw  people  moved.  I 
preached  with  liberty  last  night  to  the  house  packed.  This  morning, 
IMonday,  at  the  sunup  meeting,  we  had  a  good  number;  still  the 
weather  was  awful — a  rain  and  wind  storm,  the  only  kind  that  hurts 
a  meeting  here.  We  hold  service  again  at  eleven  o'clock,  as  you  will 
see  by  the  card." 

Dr.  Talmage,  at  Mr.  Jones's  suggestion,  telegraphed  to  Professor 
Mcintosh,  of  Emory  College,  to  come  and  take  charge  of  the  sing- 
ing. Mr.  Jones  was  glad  to  have  him,  as  he  was  great  company  and 
good  help  in  the  meeting.  Plans  were  made  for  a  great  men's 
meeting  to  be  held  the  following  Sunday.  The  second  week  the  in- 
terest increased,  and  the  audiences  grew  larger  and  the  papers  gave 
more  space  to  the  meetings.  In  another  letter,  written  January  14th, 
Mr.  Jones  said : 

"Our  meeting  is  glorious.  There  were  about  fifty  conversions 
last  night.     I  look  for  great  things  from  now  on.     I  have  the  most 


128  Sam  P.  Jones. 

and  the  best  helpers  here  I  ever  had  anywhere.  Dr.  Talmage's 
church  is  full  of  consecrated  workers.  Dr.  Talmage  is  greatly  en- 
couraged, and  said  last  night's  meeting  was  the  best  he  ever  saw.  He 
says  the  revival  is  better  attended  than  any  one  he  ever  saw  held  in 
the  tabernacle." 

It  was  not  convenient  for  me  to  go  to  Brooklyn  with  Mr.  Jones, 
but  the  letters  I  received  daily  were  full  of  urgent  requests  that  I 
join  him.  Finally,  the  conditions  at  home  were  such  that  I  went  to 
Brooklyn  during  the  latter  part  of  his  meeting.  At  most  every 
service  some  of  the  number  who  were  converted  united  with  the 
church.  Mr.  Jones  was  constantly  receiving  letters  from  many 
places  where  he  labored  in  the  South  assuring  him  of  sympathy  and 
prayer.  This  greatly  encouraged  him  and  he  preached  with  unusual 
power  the  closing  week  of  the  revival.  The  largest  audiences  that 
he  had  addressed  up  to  that  time  were  attending  his  ministry.  The 
people  had  become  accustomed  to  his  preaching,  and  were  working 
earnestly  for  the  salvation  of  the  erring  and  lost.  Dr.  Talmage's 
church  was  greatly  strengthened  by  the  direct  accessions  from  the 
meeting,  and  the  last  Sunday  night  service  was  one  of  tremendous 
power  and  force. 

Standing  there  before  the  building  packed  and  jammed,  he  re- 
lated in  closing  his  serm.on  the  story  furnished  him  by  his  old  pre- 
siding elder,  Rev.  Simon  Peter  Richardson,  of  the  old  ship  going 
out  to  sea.  Said  Brother  Richardson,  "I  was  brought  up  near  the 
beach  of  the  ocean.  We  lived  up  on  the  hillside  in  sight  of  the 
beach.  One  morning  I  saw  a  grand  old  ship  that  had  been  swept 
up  on  the  beach  by  the  storm  in  the  night.  After  breakfast  I  went 
and  looked  all  through  and  over  that  old  ship.  I  have  been  on  that 
ship  often.  I  have  sat  and  watched  the  high  tide — the  spring  tide — 
go  in  and  surround  the  ship  and  rise  higher  and  higher.  'Oh  do,  poor 
old  ship,  go  out  to  sea!'  I  have  said,  and  I  would  look  out  again 
and  see  that  the  tide  had  gone  out  and  left  the  old  ship  high  and  dry. 
I  have  seen  the  tide  flow  out  and  come  in  and  in  until  the  old  ship 
would  quiver  and  tremble  as  if  about  to  float  away.  'Do  go  to  sea,' 
said  I,  to  the  old  ship,  'or  you  will  crumble  to  pieces' ;  but  the  tide 
would  go  out  and  leave  the  ship  still  aground.     Finally,  one  morn- 


AUDITORIUM  AT  CHATTANOOGA, 


Sam  p.  JONES.  129 

ing,  sure  enough,  that  old  ship  had  crumbled  into  ten  thousand 
pieces,  and  was  swept  off  forever." 

After  relating  the  story  he  said :  "]\Iy  brother,  your  good  wife 
has  stood  by  and  seen  this  high  tide  come  in  often,  and  perhaps  to- 
night is  the  highest  tide  you  will  ever  see.  Old  ship  of  humanity, 
do  go  out  to  sea  to-night.  The  tide  is  up  and  around  you,  and  you 
quiver  and  tremble  under  the  pressure  of  this  tide  of  grace  that 
sweeps  over  you.  If  you  do  not  go  out,  you  will  be  stranded  for- 
ever on  the  beach  of  eternal  despair.  God  help  you  to  turn  loose 
and  go  out  with  this  tide,  and  enter  the  haven  of  eternal  rest.  Will 
you,  my  brother,  my  sister,  consent  to  give  your  heart  to  God  and 
start?"  When  he  extended  the  invitation,  hundreds  responded  to 
his  appeal,  and  the  great  and  glorious  meeting  was  closed. 

The  Brooklyn  meeting  was  like  every  other  meeting  that  he  held ; 
one  of  power  and  force,  and  was  instrumental  in  bringing  hun- 
dreds to  the  Lord,  and  in  adding  great  numbers  to  the  church. 

Upon  his  arrival  at  home,  Mr.  Jones  received  a  picture  painted 
by  an  artist  who  was  present  that  night.  The  picture  is  one  of  a 
ship  stranded  on  the  beach,  and  the  last  tide  gone  out,  and  it  is  left 
to  crumble  to  pieces.  A  letter  followed  in  which  the  artist  said  that 
he  was  present  that  night  and  realized  that  if  he  didn't  go  out  on 
that  tide  that  he  would  be  stranded  for  all  eternity,  assuring  Mr. 
Jones  that  he  gave  his  heart  to  God  that  hour,  and  expressed  desire 
that  he  would  accept  the  gift  as  a  token  of  his  appreciation  for  the 
illustration  that  had  been  such  a  blessing  to  him.  The  picture  now 
hangs  in  our  sitting-room,  and  Mr.  Jones  valued  it  as  much  as  any 
one  in  our  home,  not  because  of  its  intrinsic  value,  but  its  asso- 
ciation. 

Dr.  Talmage  and  Mr.  Jones  formed  friendship  that  deepened  and 
broadened  during  the  years  to  follow.  Mr.  Jones  was  an  ardent 
sdmirer  of  Dr.  Talmage,  while  Dr.  Talmage  loved  him  and  always 
spoke  in  the  highest  terms  of  the  work  done  in  Brooklyn.  When 
Dr.  Talmage  made  his  last  visit  to  Atlanta,  he  spoke  of  the  meeting, 
in  which  he  said  that  it  was  the  greatest  and  best  meeting  he  ever 
saw  in  Brooklyn,  and  that  his  people  remembered,  loved  and  cher- 
ished jMr.  Jones  for  the  great  and  lasting  good  he  accomplished 
during  his  mission  there. 


BOOK  TWO 

His  Activity 


CHAPTER  XII. 


That  Memorable;  Meeting. 

In  speaking  of  the  Nashville  meeting,  Mr.  Jones  always  referred 
to  it  as  "that  memorable  meeting."  To  him,  it  was  the  greatest 
meeting  he  ever  conducted.  It  seemed  to  take  a  stronger  grip  upon 
the  consciences  of  men  and  to  extend  further  in  its  practical  results 
than  any  other  meeting  he  held.  The  conversions  reached  into  the 
thousands,  and  the  accessions  to  the  churches  in  and  around  Nash- 
ville exceeded  several  thousands. 

In  speaking  of  the  meeting  six  months  afterwards,  the  presiding 
elder  of  the  Nashville  district  said  he  believed  ten  thousand  acces- 
sions were  made  to  the  churches  in  Nashville,  and  within  a  radius 
of  one  hundred  miles  of  the  city.  The  great  indifference  that  had 
settled  down  upon  the  church  life  and  the  great  worldliness  which 
had  eaten  the  heart  out  of  the  religious  life  was  practically  broken 
up.  The  liquor  traffic  and  all  of  the  sins  and  vices  which  accompany 
it  received  such  heavy  blows  that  the  result  was  a  great  victory  for 
temperance,  sobriety  and  right  living. 

It  is  doubtful  if  there  was  ever  a  meeting  held  under  such  condi- 
tions and  for  the  same  length  of  time  that  the  results  were  so  ex- 
tensive and  abiding.  It  will  go  down  in  history  as  one  of  the  most 
marvelous  works  of  grace  of  any  age. 

Perhaps  he  was  never  so  bitterly  opposed  in  any  work  as  that  in 
Nashville.  An  invitation  had  been  extended  him  by  the  Protestant 
Ministers'  Association  and  he  had  accepted  the  call.  This  was  early 
in  the  year  1885.  However,  there  was  just  a  little  apprehension  in 
the  minds  of  the  ministers  as  to  the  propriety  of  holding  the  meet- 
ings in  an  auditorium.  Mr.  Jones  had  asked  that  they  arrange  for 
a  building  or  tent  that  would  seat  not  less  than  three  thousand  peo- 
ple, and  if  possible  would  accommodate  five  thousand.     Having 

(133) 


/ 


134  Sam  P.  Jon^. 

failed  to  convince  the  ministers  of  the  necessity  of  such  a  building, 
he  compromised  with  them  by  making  a  date  to  spend  one  Sunday 
in  Nashville  in  April,  This  would  give  the  ministers  an  opportunity 
to  hear  the  Georgia  evangelist,  and  see  whether  he  could  draw  a 
crowd  too  large  for  the  churches.  He  preached  three  times  on  Sun- 
day, occupying  the  pulpits  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  the 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  and  the  McKendree  Methodist 
church.  The  immense  crowds  that  attended  filled  the  churches  to 
overflowing,  and  hundreds  went  away  without  getting  a  sight  of 
the  preacher. 

In  the  "Athens  of  the  South,"  Mr.  Jones  fired  some  of  his  biggest 
and  hottest  shots.  The  stiff  and  solemn  church-members  laughed 
in  spite  of  themselves,  while  some  of  the  fastidious  were  unmerci- 
fully shocked.  The  backsliders  and  sinners  were  held  up  to  such 
ridicule  and  their  backsliding  and  sins  were  so  pictured  to  them,  that 
they  stood  condemned  as  they  saw  themselves.  Then  his  pathetic 
appeals  softened  and  stirred  eveiy  heart  and  the  large  audiences 
were  completely  broken  up.  The  preachers  hardly  knew  what  to 
think  or  say.  While  they  were  friendly  to  the  evangelist  and  desired 
to  see  a  great  work  done  in  Nashville,  they  were  really  shocked,  and 
some  of  them  went  away  very  angry,  while  others  defended  the 
bravery  of  the  minister.  Mr.  Jones  was  the  subject  of  the  conver- 
sations of  the  majority  of  the  people  of  Nashville. 

He  went  on  to  Knoxville,  where  he  was  booked  for  an  evangelistic 
meeting.  Great  power  attended  his  ministry  there,  and  no  building 
could  accommodate  the  crowds  that  went  to  hear  him.  The  con- 
versions were  many,  and  the  churches  greatly  revived.  It  was  a 
marvelous  work  of  grace. 

During  this  time,  the  newspapers  of  Nashville  had  been  discussing 
fhe  sermons  of  Mr.  Jones.  The  editors  had  given  their  opinions 
and  the  reporters  had  given  their  views  to  the  public.  The  columns 
were  open  to  the  friends  and  the  foes  of  the  evangelist.  Probably 
the  warmest  month  that  daily  papers  ever  had  discussing  a  minister 
was  the  one  that  intervened  between  Mr.  Jones's  first  appearance  in 
Nashville  and  his  return  to  conduct  the  great  union  meeting.  One 
of  the  daily  papers  said : 


Sam  .p.  Jones.  135 

"Nashville  is  still  buzzing  over  the  visit  of  this  unique  evangelist. 
In  the  daily  newspapers  he  has  been  assailed  bitterly  and  defended 
warmly,  and  almost  everywhere  Sam  Jones  has  been  the  principal 
topic  of  conversation,  and  still  the  stir  continues.  We  have  not  es- 
caped condemnation  for  what  we  said  in  recognition  of  the  good 
work  done  by  him  in  many  places,  but  the  responses  which  have 
reached  us  are  mostly  approving.  One  good  result,  at  least,  has  been 
attained.  There  is  an  unusual  interest  in  religious  questions  in 
Nashville." 

The  Union  had  the  following  editorial  the  morning  that  Mr.  Jones 
finished  his  first  visit  to  Nashville : 

"After  listening  to  him  attentively,  we  set  him  down  as  a  'crank,' 
his  expressions  in  the  pulpit  surpassing  anything  we  have  ever 
heard.  While  not  rushing  to  the  defense  of  the  pulpit,  we  have 
ever  held  it  in  reverence,  regarding  it  as  an  educator  in  modesty, 
dignity,  gentility,  and  morality.  We  must  deprecate  the  lowering  of 
its  dignity  so  that  the  coarseness,  vulgarity,  slang,  and  positive  mis- 
representations shall  not  emanate  from  it.  Xike  priest,  like  people.' 
If  Mr.  Jones's  style  and  language  suit  the  good  people  of  our  city, 
then  we  can  no  longer  rightfully  maintain  our  boast  that  Nashville 
is  the  'Athens  of  the  South.'  It  is  said  that  Mr.  Jones  has  cancelled 
an  engagement  in  Texas  to  visit  here.  It  were  better  for  him  to 
reconsider  his  action.  We  are  quite  sure  that  he  could  exhibit  to 
better  advantage  in  Texas  than  here.  Our  people  are  past  the  age 
of  being  ridiculed  or  abused  into  religion.  Moreover,  he  defends 
his  execrable  grammar,  his  coarseness  and  his  slang  with :  'I  am 
trying  to  get  down  on  a  level  with  my  audience,'  which  is  hardly 
the  highest  compliment  that  could  be  paid  our  people.  We  have  as 
much  culture,  refinement  and  esthetic  taste  in  Nashville  as  any  city 
of  its  size  in  the  Union,  and  that  this  so-called  reverend  gentleman 
should  be  permitted  to  say  such  things  in  our  leading  pulpits,  and 
then  be  invited  to  come  again,  amazes  us  beyond  expression." 

The  next  morning  the  preachers  held  a  meeting  in  the  Methodist 
Publishing  House  to  perfect  the  arrangements  for  the  proposed 
meeting.  After  hearing  his  sermons  on  Sunday,  some  who  had  been 
friendly  to  his  coming  now  openly  and  bitterly  opposed  his  return. 


136  Sam  P.  Jon^s. 

However,  better  counsel  prevailed,  and  the  committee  determined 
to  make  preparation  for  the  meeting.  We  give  here  an  account  of 
the  ministerial  meeting  as  reported  in  the  Nashville  Banner.  This 
will  give  our  readers  an  idea  of  the  condition  of  affairs  at  that  time : 

"The  committee  appointed  to  arrange  for  a  suitable  place  for 
holding  the  union  services  to  be  conducted  by  Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones 
met  in  conference  with  the  city  ministers  this  morning  at  nine  o'clock 
at  the  Publishing  House.  Dr.  Leftwich  was  called  to  the  chair,  and 
Dr.  McNeilly  led  in  pra3^er.  Dr.  McNeilly  afterward  took  the  chair. 
Dr.  Elliott  said  he  didn't  think  that  all  of  the  preachers  should  step 
out  of  their  shoes  and  step  into  those  of  Mr.  Jones.  Dr.  Leftwich 
moved  that  a  sub-committee  be  appointed  to  correspond  with  a  tent- 
furnishing  house,  and  ascertain  at  what  price  a  sufficiently  large 
tent  could  be  had.    This  motion  was  not  acted  upon. 

"Dr.  McFerrin  said  he  thought  they  should  have  a  tent,  and,  by 
all  means,  let  Rev.  Sam  Jones  come.  He  would  do  good,  provided 
he  could  have  the  cooperation  of  the  ministers.  He  had  heard  Mr, 
Jones  twice,  and  he  thought  he  said  some  things  which  would  be 
better  unsaid,  and  some  things  which  could  be  said  differently,  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  said  some  wonderful  things  which  went  direct 
to  the  heart.  He  was  in  favor  of  his  coming  and  would  do  all  he 
could  to  help  the  meeting. 

"Dr.  Ivcftwich  said  it  was  not  the  time  to  discuss  whether  Mr. 
Jones  was  to  come  or  not.  He  was  already  invited.  This  question 
was  settled  and  he  would,  therefore,  move  that  a  tent  be  purchased 
and  a  committee  be  appointed  to  negotiate  for  its  purchase. 

"Dr.  Barbee  said  he  could  not  see  the  necessity  of  a  tent.  The 
crowds  he  saw  at  Mr.  Jones's  meetings  were  nearly  all  church-goers 
who  attended  various  churches  regularly.  He  did  not  agree  with 
Mr.  Jones,  for  he  believed  that  the  majority  of  the  church-members 
in  Nashville  were  Christians  and  making  every  effort  in  their  power 
to  live  Christian  lives. 

"Dr.  W.  H.  Strickland  thought  the  discussions  regarding  Mr. 
Jones  were  wise,  and  it  was  well  for  him  to  know  of  these  things 
and  the  objections  made  to  his  teachings.  He  mentioned  several  of 
the  'vulgarisms'  which  he,  as  a  pastor  and  knowing  his  people  as 
well  as  he  did,  could  not  endorse. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  137 

"Dr.  McNeillly  said  he  was  tempted  to  endorse  Mr.  Jones  out 
and  out.  He  heard  him  twice,  and  it  did  him  good.  There  were 
some  particular  things  said  by  Mr.  Jones  which  he  didn't  endorse; 
but,  as  an  evangehst,  he  thought  Mr.  Jones  a  success  and  he  favored 
a  union  service  and  wanted  Mr.  Jones  to  come. 

"The  previous  question  was  called,  but  amended  so  as  to  appoint 
a  committee  of  five,  Avho  should  procure  a  tent  to  hold  not  more  than 
five  thousand  and  not  less  than  three  thousand." 

The  friends  of  Mr.  Jones  had  access  to  the  columns  of  the  daily 
papers,  and  some  of  the  most  earnest  and  ardent  Christians  defended 
the  evangelist  in  a  manly  way,  A  contribution  of  an  "amused  spec- 
tator" is  as  follows : 

"The  writer  has  been  an  'amused  spectator'  and  a  listener  to  the 
attacks  made  upon  the  Rev.  Sam  Jones.  -Now,  while  we  did  not 
hear  the  reverend  gentleman,  we  have  been  at  some  pains  to  notice 
the  reports  both  verbal  and  written.  While  we  do  not  think  his  lan- 
guage savors  of  the  first  schools  of  our  land,  he  certainly  follows  the 
example  of  his  Master,  Jesus ;  and  I  must  say  he  hits  'square  from 
the  shoulder.'  If  he  misses  the  mark  in  attacking  our  Christian 
churches  or  their  members,  no  harm  can  result  to  them.  If  not,  and 
they  deserve  it,  let  them  flinch  and  squirm.  Our  churches  are  too 
indififerent  on  many  questions  of  vital  interest  to  them.  The  liquor 
question,  for  instance.  We  see  by  one  of  the  morning  papers,  since 
Sam  Jones's  accusation,  it  is  found  that  out  of  eighty-one  wholesale 
liquor-dealers,  sixty-eight  are  sheltered  in  the  fold  of  Christian 
churches  in  our  city." 

During  that  month  the  papers  were  full  of  bitterest  criticism  and 
warmest  appreciation  of  Mr.  Jones.  Other  daily  papers  copied  them, 
and  in  some  instances  exag'gerated  them  until  Mr.  Jones  became 
the  most-talked-of  man  in  the  ministry.  The  enemies  of  Mr.  Jones 
and  his  cause  had  the  same  access  to  the  papers,  and  they  were  as 
strong  and  fearless  in  their  denunciation  of  the  man  and  his  meth- 
ods as  his  friends  were  in  their  commendation  of  him. 

There  had  been  so  many  evil  reports  circulated  regarding  his  ser- 
mons in  Nashville,  that  the  pastors  of  the  Protestant  churches  of 
Knoxville,  Tennessee,  where  Mr.  Jones  was  laboring  in  a  meet- 


138  Sam  P.  Jones. 

ing,  felt  called  upon  to  send  a  letter  to  the  pastors  in  Nashville.    We 
select  a  paragraph  or  two  from  this;  letter : 

''Brethren,  for  twelve  days  we  have  had  in  our  midst,  and  preach- 
ing to  us  and  our  people,  the  Rev.  Samuel  P.  Jones,  an  accredited 
minister  of  the  gospel  in  the  North  Georgia  Conference  of  the  M.  E. 
Church,  South,  laboring  as  an  evangelist,  and  that  we  have  had  full 
opportunities  to  learn  the  tendency  of  his  teachings  and  character 
of  his  work.  By  reason  of  evil  reports,  some  of  us  at  the  first  were 
prejudiced  against  him,  but  having  attended  upon  his  ministry  four 
times  a  day  for  eleven  consecutive  days,  hearing  his  discourses, 
which  he  has  handled  by  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  the  gospel, 
we  have  found  no  fault  in  him;  while,  somewhat  as  a  matter  of 
taste,  we  could  have  wished  some  things  could  have  been  touched 
in  a  different  style  and  some  matters  illustrated  by  a  less  hu- 
morous incident,  nevertheless,  we  endorse  the  soundness  of  the  gos- 
pel he  inculcated  in  general.  We  offer  a  prayerful  testimony  to  his 
zeal  for  the  truth,  his  jealousy  for  the  honor  of  our  holy  religion,  to 
his  effort  to  glorify  God,  and  his  earnest  love  for  the  souls  of  men ; ' 
and  we  testify  that  his  preaching  has  been  evangelical  and  Scriptural 
and  to  the  wonderful  edification  of  saint  and  conviction  of  sinners. 

"His  labors  here  have  resulted  in  awakening  professed  Christians 
to  a  greater  fidelity  and  zeal  in  the  service  of  God,  in  public  and  in 
private,  and  in  the  establishment  of  many  family  altars,  where  they 
had  never  been  erected  before,  and  in  convincing  sinners  of  their 
lost  conditions  and  leading  them  to  flee  for  refuge  to  the  hope  set 
before  us  in  the  gospel ;  and  hundreds  have  given  good  evidence  of 
having  passed  from  death  unto  life.  In  his  hands,  the  trumpet  has 
given  no  uncertain  sound.  He  has  preached  the  word,  he  has  been 
instant  in  season  and  out  of  season,  has  reproved,  rebuked,  exhorted 
with  all  long-suffering,  he  has  shown  God's  people  their  transgres- 
sions, and  the  house  of  Jacob  their  sins." 

When  he  had  finished  his  remarkable  meetings  in  Knoxville  and 
Chattanooga,  he  returned  to  Nashville  to  begin  the  much-discussed 
revival.  A  large  tent  that  would  seat  about  eight  thousand  was 
located  on  Broad  street.  The  first  service  was  held  at  three-thirty 
p.m.,  Sunday,  May  2,  1885.    Long  before  that  hour,  however,  every 


Sam  p.  Jon^.  139 

seat  under  the  canvas  was  filled  and  the  aisles  were  crowded,  and 
there  was  fully  two  thousand  persons  standing  on  the  outside  of  the 
tent.  The  board-pile  and  rafters  of  the  foundation  of  a  new  build- 
ing being  erected  near  by  furnished  additional  standing  room,  and 
the  crowd  extended  from  the  main  entrance  of  the  tent  over  the  en- 
tire lot  and  down  the  street  for  over  a  half  block.  At  three-thirty 
Mr.  Jones  pushed  his  way  through  the  crowd,  and  finally  succeeded 
in  reaching  the  platform. 

Among  the  ministers  seated  on  the  rostrum  were  Bishop  Har- 
grove, Rev.  W.  E.  Cunningham,  Rev.  B.  F.  Harris,  Rev.  J.  W. 
Lewis,  of  St.  Louis ;  Rev.  W.  B.  Crawford,  of  Mobile,  Ala. ;  Rev. 
Dr.  J.  Witherspoon,  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church;  Rev.  Dr. 
Sprowles,  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  and  the  follow- 
ing ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  church  of  this  city :  Rev. 
Dr.  McFerrin,  Rev.  Dr.  Leftwich,  and  Rev.  Dr.  R.  K.  Brown.  The 
choir  was  composed  of  the  memibers  of  the  choirs  of  the  city 
churches.  Professor  Mcintosh,  of  Oxford,  Georgia,  led  the  choir. 
Dr.  McFerrin  made  the  opening  prayer,  in  which  he  asked  God's 
help  for  the  preacher,  congregation,  and  the  people  of  Nashville. 
He  asked  that  the  Lord  would  make  the  congregation  feel  the  re- 
sponsibility that  rested  upon  them  in  this  hour,  when  so  many  thou- 
sands had  assembled  together  and  that  everything  that  happened  in 
the  tent  would  be  done  in  fear  of  Him  who  created  us.  His  prayer 
was  earnest,  sympathetic  and  touching.  The  congregation  then 
sang,  "Take  the  name  of  Jesus  with  you."  Afterwards,  Mr.  Jones 
was  introduced  to  the  audience  and  took  for  his  text  the  first  verse 
of  the  sixth  chapter  of  Galatians :  "Brethren,  if  a  man  be  overtaken 
in  a  fault  ye  which  are  spiritual  restore  such  a  one  in  the  spirit  of 
meekness,  lest  thou  also  be  tempted."  It  was  a  most  appropriate 
text  for  the  occasion,  and  Mr.  Jones  preached  with  all  his  earnest- 
ness, zeal  and  power.  In  closing  his  sermon  he  made  use  of  the  fol- 
lowing remarkable  illustration  of  the  battle  of  Franklin,  and  the 
capture  of  the  fort  called  "Locust  Grove" : 

"Now  this  incident,  and  I  am  through  :  We  all  love  bravery.  Ah, 
there  is  not  a  man  living  who  does  not  admire  a  brave  man,  though 
he  is  his  enemy.    I  want  to  refer  to  an  incident  of  this  last  war.    I 


140  Sam  P.  Jones. 

am  sorry  about  that  war — sorry  we  ever  fired  on  the  old  Union  flag. 
I  was  too  young,  but  if  I  had  been  old  enough  I  would  have  gone 
vrith  my  father  and  brother  and  my  six  uncles  and  fought  with  all 
my  might.  But  I  will  tell  you  this  much — there  is  not  a  man  who 
walks  the  American  soil  to-day  that  would  fight  for  the  old  Stars 
and  Stripes  any  quicker  than  I  would  this  minute.  (Applause.) 
God  knows  my  heart.  I  am  loyal  to  the  flag  that  floats  over  Amer- 
ica, as  I  am  loyal  to  the  banner  of  Jesus  Christ.  (Applause.)  But 
during  this  last  war,  you  know  when  Sherman  pushed  his  forces 
through  Georgia,  and  when  Johnston  surrendered  his  forces  in  At- 
lanta into  the  hands  of  General  Hood,  that  brave  Southern  general, 
who  died  since  the  war — a  braver  man  never  drew  sword  in  battle 
— General  Hood  brought  Johnston's  army,  you  recollect,  back 
through  North  Georgia  and  into  Tennessee,  after  Sherman  drove 
Johnston  to  Atlanta.  There  Hood  took  charge  of  the  Southern 
forces  and  came  back  into  Tennessee.  You  recollect  that  memor- 
able battle  of  Franklin,  Tennessee.  This  instance,  not  historical, 
but  in  many  respects  true,  illustrates  just  what  I  want  to  say  to  you. 
At  the  battle  of  Franklin,  General  Hood  had  his  tent  pitched  upon 
a  prominence,  and  he  could  overlook  the  whole  battle  to  his  right. 
As  you  remember,  he  had  already  lost  one  of  his  legs.  While  the 
battle  was  waging  hot  and  thick,  General  Hood  was  limping  up  and 
down  in  front  of  the  tent,  and  whenever  he  would  turn  and  face  the 
battle,  he  saw  that  there  was  a  fort  in  a  locust  grove  the  Union  forces 
held,  and  that  fort  was  sending  forth  shot  and  shell  and  death  into 
his  own  ranks.  As  he  walked  up  and  down  in  front  of  his  tent,  and 
every  time  he  turned  around  he  would  see  this  volley  of  shell  and 
death  as  it  hewed  down  his  ranks,  and  he  watched  the  volley  from 
that  fort,  and  directly  he  called  his  adjutant-general.  'Adjutant- 
general,  come  here.'  The  adjutant-general  loped  up  on  his  horse, 
and  General  Hood  said :  'Adjutant-general,  go  and  present  my 
compliments  to  General  Cleburne,  and  tell  him,  I  ask  at  his  hands 
the  fort  in  the  locust  grove.'  The  adjutant-general  loped  off  down 
to  where  General  Cleburne's  division  of  corps  was,  and  asked  for 
General  Cleburne.  They  said,  'He  is  missing;  he  has  not  been  seen 
in  two  hours.    We  think  he  is  killed.'     The  adjutant-general  loped 


Sam  p.  Jones.  141 

back  to  General  Hood  and  said :  'General  Cleburne  is  missing.  They 
think  he  is  killed.  They  don't  know  where  he  is.'  General  Hood 
dropped  his  head  and  walked  up  and  down  in  front  of  his  tent,  and 
ever}'  time  he  would  turn  he  would  see  the  volley  of  shell  and  death 
play  into  his  ranks.  Again  calling  his  adjutant-general  to  him,  he 
said,  'Adjutant-general,  go  and  present  my  compliments  to  General 
Cheatham,  and  tell  him,  I  ask  at  his  hands  the  fort  in  the  locust 
grove.'  The  adjutant-general  loped  off  down  to  General  Cheat- 
liamx's  quarters,  and  they  said:  'General  Cheatham  is  not  here;  .he 
is  missing.  He  may  have  been  killed.'  The  adjutant-general  hur- 
ried back  and  said :  'They  think  General  Cheatham  is  killed  also.' 
General  Hood  commenced  marching  up  and  down,  and  every  time 
he  turned  he  saw  that  fort  as  it  threw  out  its  shell  and  death.  He 
stopped  again,  and  said:  'Adjutant-general'  His  adjutant-general 
came  up  to  him,  then  he  said :  'Adjutant-general,  go  and  present 
my  love  (no  compliments  about  this — go  and  present  my  love)  to 
General  Cockrell,  and  tell  him  I  ask  at  his  hands  that  fort  in  the 
locust  grove.'  The  adjutant-general  went  down  to  General  Cock- 
rell's  division,  and  he  said :  'General  Cockrell,  General  Hood  pre- 
sents his  love,  and  asks  at  your  hands  that  fort  in  the  locust  grove.' 
General  Cockrell  straightened  himself  on  the  saddle,  cast  his  bright 
eye  down  the  line,  and  said :  'First  Missouri  Brigade,  Attention !' 
and  dropped  his  finger  on  the  fort.  And  they  charged  with  a  fear- 
ful loss  on  that  fort,  and  captured  it  and  silenced  the  guns.  And 
Cockrell  called  his  adjutant-general  and  said :  'Adjutant-general, 
go  and  present  my  love  to  General  Hood,  and  tell  him  I  also  present 
him  the  fort  in  the  locust  grove.' 

"Brethren  of  Nashville,  at  this  hour,  as  adjutant-general  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  I  point  my  finger  at  the  citadel  of  sin  in  Nash- 
ville, and  tell  you  that  my  Lord  and  Saviour  presents  you  all  His 
love,  and  He  asks  at  your  hands  this  fort  that  is  desolating  so  many 
hearts.  And  I  hope  that  in  less  than  one  month  from  to-day  I  can 
say,  'Blessed  Christ,  Nashville  presents  her  love  to  you,  and  also 
presents  you  the  whole  city  saved  by  thy  precious  blood.  (Cries  of 
"Amen.")  O  Lord,  grant  it.  And  I  want  every  man  and  woman 
here  to-day  that  wants  to  join  in  the  warfare  against  sin,  whether 


142  Sam  P.  Jones. 

you  are  in  the  church  or  not,  if  you  would  be  on  the  right  side  and 
try  to  win  the  city  to  Christ,  I  want  every  one  tliat  would  see  the 
city  presented  to  God  to  stand  up.  Let  every  one  stand  up  that 
says,  'I  am  in  for  bringing  the  whole  city  to  Christ.'  (Nearly  the 
whole  congregation  arose.)  Well,  thank  God,  we  have  thousands. 
Very  few  sitting,  and  thousands  standing  up  and  saying,  'We  will 
take  the  fort  for  Christ.'  " 

At  the  close  of  the  sermon  the  great  audience  was  wild  with  en- 
thusiasm. It  is  doubtful  whether  a  sermon  ever  produced  such  a 
profound  impression.  The  people  rose  to  their  feet  en  masse,  with 
tears  streaming  down  their  faces,  declaring  their  willingness  to  help 
in  the  great  work.  It  was  one  of  the  most  thrilling  scenes  that  mor- 
tal eyes  ever  looked  upon.  The  picture  is  vivid  in  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  older  residents  of  Nashville  even  to  this  day. 

In  the  evening  before  the  hour  appointed  for  service,  the  people 
were  seen  going  in  droves  toward  the  tent.  By  the  time  appointed 
for  the  service  it  was  difficult  to  get  anywhere  near  the  tent.  Mr. 
Jones  came  upon  the  platform  rather  early,  and  before  preaching 
made  some  prefatory  remarks  regarding  the  discussions  that  had 
been  going  on  in  the  papers  during  his  absence  from  the  city. 
"Now,"  said  he,  "all  that  I  ask  of  the  papers  and  their  contributors 
is  that  they  give  me  a  fair  deal.  You  have  acted  cowardly  in  pub- 
lishing denunciations  of  me,  without  backing  them  with  your  name. 
I  never  pay  any  attention  to  an  article  with  a  nom  de  plume,  for  a 
nom  de  plume  is  nothing  more  or  less  than  a  turkey-buzzard  with 
his  feathers  stamped  off".  Now,  if  you  have  anything  to  say  about 
me,  bud,  just  put  your  name  to  it,  and  I  will  take  care  of  you.  If 
you  can  say  anything  worse  about  me  than  I  can  about  you,  just 
'lam  in.'  " 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


That  Mi;morable  Meeting  (Continued). 

This  manly  and  fearless  way  of  addressing  thern  made  a  deep 
impression  upon  the  audience.  They  admired  his  courage  and  man- 
Hness.  He  completely  silenced  those  who  opposed  him,  and  there 
was  v&ry  little  condemnation  in  the  papers  during  the  entire  meet- 
ing. Mr.  Jones  announced  four  services  daily  during  his  entire 
stay  in  the  city.  At  sunrise  he  would  begin  the  work  of  the  day- 
He  v/ould  preach  at  ten  o'clock  and  in  the  afternoon  would  conduct 
a  service  and  preach  again  at  night.  He  then  announced  his  text 
and  preached  a  sermon  in  which  "he  swept  the  deck  and  burned 
the  broom."  All  sorts  of  shams,  hypocrisies,  worldliness,  covetous- 
ness,  drunkenness,  gambling  and  impurity  came  in  for  their  share 
of  the  most  terrific  denunciation.  What  he  had  to  say  about  these 
prevailing  sins  was  unlike  anything  Nashville  had  ever  heard  before. 
He  had  his  audience  passing  through  all  sorts  of  experiences, 
laughing,  weeping,  approving  and  disapproving.  He  showed  his 
mastery  of  the  situation  by  bringing  them  around  to  his  way  of 
thinking  and  sending  them  home  agreeing  with  him  in  what  he 
had  said. 

The  next  morning  a  large  audience  was  out  at  the  sunrise  meet- 
ing, a  still  larger  one  at  the  ten  o'clock  service,  and  a  still  larger 
in  the  afternoon,  and  at  night  the  tent  was  too^  small  for  the  great 
crowd,  and  standing-room  was  at  a  premium,  while  the  curtains 
were  lifted  and  the  people  stood  in  rows,  eager  to  hear  what  was 
coming  next.  Such  was  the  interest  from  day  to  day  that  before 
the  meeting  closed  he  was  addressing  as  many  as  six  thousand 
people  at  the  early  morning  service  at  six  o'clock. 

The  marvelous  victory  that  he  had  won  in  these  first  days  com- 

(143) 


144  Sam  P.  Jone;s. 

pletely  captured  the  press  of  the  city.  We  give  an  editorial  estimate 
from  some  of  the  daily  papers.    The  American  says : 

"Such  is  Sam  Jones  as  he  now  appears  to  us,  bold,  honest,  earnest, 
matchless  in  his  command  of  an  audience,  fearing  God  but  not 
man;  loving  religion  and  law,  but  despising  the  defeated  wisdom 
of  man  and  the  conventionalities  of  fashionable  society;  rough,  but 
magnanimous,  aggressive  but  unselfish,  devout  but  not  Pharisaical — 
a  bubbling  fount  fresh  from  the  bosom  of  earth;  nature's  own, 
without  the  artificial  gloss  of  a  high  cultivation — a  sort  of  moral 
diamond  in  the  rough." 

The  Union  says:  "This  strange  preacher  walked  into  our  city 
and  attacked  the  vices  and  immoralities  of  social  life  and  the  evil 
practices  of  church-members  like  a  frontiersman  would  fight  a  fire 
that  threatens  his  fences  and  his  barns.  He  spares  nobody ;  he  pal- 
liates nothing  because  respectable  people  do  it.  Social  amenities 
and  a  growing  friendship  between  the  church  and  people  with 
doubtful  practices  are  held  up  and  exposed  as  the  devil's  handiwork. 
*  *  *  Looking  at  him  alone  from  a  temporal  standpoint  it 
is  well  for  the  people  of  Nashville  to  hold  up  his  hands.  As  a 
teacher  of  life's  virtues,  as  an  example  of  moral  courage,  he  will 
long  be  remembered  by  the  young  men  of  our  city  and  surrounding 
country.  To  speak,  or  not  to  speak  the  whole  truth  is  often  a  ques- 
tion of  policy.  Under  the  teachings  of  public  and  political  life  the 
young  man  debates  the  policy  of  telling  the  truth.  Mr.  Jones  is 
proving  to  young  men  of  the  country  that  policy  goes  to  pieces 
before  truth,  and  that  with  a  good  motive  and  a  friendly  feeling 
the  severest  condemnation  of  a  wrong  gives  no  offense.  To  be  a 
coward  before  an  audience  and  pander  to  a  vicious  public  sentiment 
is  weakness,  and  when  it  becomes  common  it  is  a  calamity.  There 
can  be  no  hope  for  a  people  whose  public  men  are  cowardly.  We 
do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  sitting  in  judgment  on  the  courage 
of  the  pulpit.  We  mean  simply  to  say  that  Mr.  Jones  is  displaying 
sound  judgment  and  great  courage,  and  at  the  same  time  a  truly 
Christian  spirit,  in  telling  people  plainly  and  bluntly  of  their  short- 
comings." 

The  Banner  says :  "Rev.  Sam  Jones  is  a  remarkable  man,  and 


.Sam  p.  Jones.  1^-5 

yet  he  is  a  very  plain,  practical  man.  It  is,  in  fact,  his  practical 
views  that  give  him  his  power  and  influence.  As  Mr.  Jones  says, 
many  sermons  place  sinners  way  out  in  some  dismal  swamp  and  to 
get  to  the  way  to  heaven  they  must  wade  through  mud  and  water, 
climb  over  logs,  scramble  through  briers,  and  tramp  weary  miles 
before  they  come  to  the  straight  and  narrow  way,  and  then  when 
they  find  it,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  they  lose  the  little  path  at  some 
careless  moment  or  during  some  dark  night.  Mr.  Jones  puts  the 
route  to  heaven  in  a  new  and  original  light.  He  says  there  is  but 
one  broad  road  in  the  moral  universe,  and  at  one  end  is  heaven,  at 
the  other  hell.  'Everybody  in  Nashville,'  says  the  preacher,  *i? 
already  in  this  road,  and  the  w^ay  to  heaven  is  simply  in  the  opposite 
direction  to  hell'  'If  you  want  to  go  to  heaven,  sinner,'  said  the 
preacher,  'just  stop  short,  face  about  and  move  off  in  the  opposite 
direction  from  your  present  course,  and  you  are  on  your  way  to 
heaven.  If  the  Christian  wants  to  go  to  hell,  let  him  stop,  turn 
his  back  on  God  and  heaven  and  move  off,  and  he  will  get  there.' 
This  is  the  way  he  simplifies  repentance." 

The  great  work  continued  day  by  day,  not  only  moving  the  lower 
strata  of  society  but  touching  the  most  refined,  cultured  and  intelli- 
gent people  of  the  city,  and  the  visitors  from  near-by  towns.  No 
preacher  ever  succeeded  in  getting  hold  of  the  thinking  people  of 
Nashville  as  did  Mr.  Jones.  At  some  of  the  services  he  would 
throw  the  meetings  over  for  testimonials.  The  most  prominent 
people  in  Nashville  had  received  good  from  these  services,  and 
were  anxious  to  give  their  testimony.  General  W.  H.  Jackson 
related  his  religious  experience  and  thrilled  every  one  who  heard 
him.  The  great  soldier  showed  that  he  had  fought  a  greater  battle 
in  his  religious  life  than  those  he  had  taken  part  in  during  the  war, 
in  which  he  gained  such  a  reputation  for  clear-headedness  and  cour- 
age. He  said  in  substance:  "i\Iy  friends  and  brethren  and  sisters 
of  the  city  of  Nashville :  I  have  never  been  more  impressed  with 
any  service  in  my  life  than  this,  and  I  am  here  to-day  to  add  my 
testimony,  which  is  feeble  and  imperfect.  I  may  have  served  my 
Lord  and  Master,  but  I  want  to  say  that  no  other  life  will  do  for 
any  man  or  woman  but  his  own.     I  am  trying  to  do  my  best  with 

6  j 


146  Sam  P.  Jones. 

all  the  temptations  that  surround  me.  Oftentimes  during  the  war 
when  I  was  unconverted,  the  fear  of  being  cut  off  without  any 
hope  was  to  me  a  startling  one,  but  I  did  not  embrace  Christianity 
then  because  I  knew  that  the  motive  was  fear,  and  I  resolved  if 
ever  I  got  through  that  war,  that  I  would  change  my  course  of  life, 
not  from  fear,  but  from  love  and  gratitude  to  God  for  the  many 
mercies  He  had  shown  me,  and  for  taking  me  through  the  danger 
which  I  had  passed  safely. 

"When  I  returned  from  the  war  I  had  never  given  a  single  thought 
to  Christianity.  I  was  reared  in  a  life,  that  of  a  soldier,  which 
removes  men  further  from  Christ  than  any  other;  but  after  the 
war  closed  I  determined  to  investigate  the  subject  for  myself  and 
satisfy  myself  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the  Scriptures.  The  strong- 
est work  I  have  read  on  that  subject  was  'Greenleaf  on  Evidence,' 
from  which  Mr.  Jones  has  quoted:  'Then  I  hesitated  yet  awhile 
longer,'  and  I  remember  the  closing  exercises  at  Jackson,  Tennes- 
see, and  Bishop  Andrews,  one  of  the  most  noble  of  men,  while  1 
M'cLs  still  hesitating  used  this  strong  figure:  'There  is  a  man,'  said 
he,  'who  is  revolving  these  questions  in  his  mind,  who  is  yet  unde- 
cided. He  reminds  me  of  a  man  who  has  fallen  overboard  from 
a  vessel,  and  his  friends  who  have  solicitations  for  his  safety  have 
cast  him  a  line  and  beseeched  him  to  take  it,  and  they  would  yet 
pull  him  up  on  deck  and  save  him  if  he  would  catch  the  line.  Just 
at  that  critical  junction  he  stops  to  parley  with  himself,  and  discuss 
the  question  whether  that  rope  will  save  him.'  The  moment  that 
he  said  that,  I  went  forward  and  gave  him  my  hand,  and  I  have 
faith.  I,  like  my  Brother  Jones  here,  have  tried  life  in  all  its  phases 
and  I  have  seen  men  in  all  their  stages,  and  though  I  don't  pretend 
to  be  perfect,  I  am  often  jostled  from  the  paths  of  duty  and  rec- 
titude, but  I  can  say  before  God  and  man  that  my  heart  is  in  that 
direction  and  I  hope  to  meet  the  duties  of  citizenship,  and  as  a  hus- 
band and  father  lead  a  life  that  shall  bring  us  all  to  heaven  if 
possible." 

As  the  meeting  progressed  the  opposition  passed  away,  the  people, 
admiring  the  courage,  earnestness  and  ability  of  Mr.  Jones  more 
and  more  each  day.    One  of  the  papers,  speaking  from  the  people's 


Sam  p.  Jones.  147 

view-point,  had  the  following  article,  entitled,  "What  the  people 
think  of  the  new  preacher"  :  "Another  day  of  the  new  preacher's 
work  has  greatly  increased  the  interest  in  him.  The  greatest  inter- 
est is  among  the  more  thoughtful  people.  Men  who'  year  in  and  year 
out  attend  to  their  private  affairs,  and  talk  only  business,  men 
who  read  books,  and  themselves  dispense  information,  scientific 
men,  professional  men,  on  streets  and  at  their  places  of  business  talk 
Sam  Jones,  and  they  go  and  hear  him.  Going  once  they  go  back, 
and  each  succeeding  time  they  go  away  more  and  more  impressed. 
Among  themselves  they  discuss  his  merits  and  his  pOAvers.  These 
discussions  embrace  any  peculiar  features  of  the  extraordinary  work. 
One  of  these  is  the  fact  that  no  poHce  are  needed  at  the  immense 
meetings.  At  night,  the  tent  being  rolled  up,  they  may  be  called 
outdoor  meetings.  Fully  ten  thousand  people  surround  the  stand, 
and  yet  there  is  perfect  order.  Nobody  is  watched;  nobody  is 
reproved.  All  prejudice  on  account  of  the  severity  of  his  language, 
the  bluntness  of  the  way  of  his  illustrations,  and  the  lack  of  clerical 
reserve  in  his  anecdotes  has  given  way.  A  strong  prejudice  created 
by  some  of  the  first  sermons  preached  by  him,  has  taken  refuge  in 
tears  and  prayers. 

"It  has  occurred  to  us  that  if  Mr.  Jones,  in  his  first  sermons, 
resorted  to  and  used  illustrations  which  were  offensive  to^  good 
taste,  though  pointed  and  pithy,  for  the  purpose  of  arresting  atten- 
tion and  bringing  out  the  people,  he  underrates  his  own  powers. 
These  illustrations  to  be  startling — it  is  probably  supposed — may 
-be  dashed  with  extravagant  expressions,  but  they,  it  seems  tO'  us, 
weaken  rather  than  strengthen  his  character.  In  this,  we  say,  he 
underrates  his  own  power.  This  is  not  necessary.  In  what  we  say, 
we  have  no  reference  to  his  humor,  nor  to  the  ever-recurring  use 
of  illustrations,  which,  under  the  power  of  his  earnest  eloquence, 
become  not  only  chaste  anecdotes,'  but  gems  set  in  the  thread  of 
thought.  Without  these  he  would  not  be  the  wonderful  character 
he  is,  but  a  comparison  may  be  made  so  strong  that  it  becomes 
offensive,  and  then  it  is  remembered  as  a  mistake. 

"One  of  the  most  pleasing  sights  in  the  work  which  Mr.  Jones  is 
doing,  is  the  outspoken  sympathy  and  friendship  of  the  entire  min- 


148  Sam  P.  Jonks. 

istry.  Of  course  preachers  differed  about  his  work,  and  about  his 
methods.  Preachers  are  in  some  respects  hke  other  people.  Some 
of  them  have  in  them  a  god  deal  of  human  nature,  and  rivalry 
sometimes  gets  the  better  of  their  Christianity.  But  in  this  case 
there  was  a  real  question  whether  the  new  preacher  might  not  tell 
too  many  anecdotes,  and  whether  his  coming  was  not  a  confession 
that  the  church  organization  was  inadequate  for  the  work. 

"But  the  new  preacher  has  removed  the  last  doubt;  he  has  melted 
up  their  creeds  and  moulded  them  into  bullets  with  which  to  fight 
the  devi\  And  when  he  turns  around  and  tells  them  to  say 
*Amen,'  they  speak  like  they  were  all  orderly-sergeants.  They 
have  manifestly  left  off  their  several  church  uniforms  and  are  march- 
ing under  the  banners  of  church  union,  with  Captain  Jones  for  com- 
mander. 

"With  the  community  at  large,  this  unity  of  action  is  disarming 
criticism.  The  question  among  thinking  men  has  been,  when  will 
Jones  run  out?  Are  his  happy  hits  an  endless  chain?  But  three 
times  a  day  he  appears  before  a  vast  audience,  pale  and  sallow, 
rather  light  of  build,  with  an  intensely  thoughtful  face,  but  with  no 
signs  of  giving  down;  indeed,  his  physical  energy  seems  to  have 
increased  with  his  work;  and  every  sermon  is  on  a  new  line,  wdth 
a  brand  new  set  of  anecdotes  and  illustrations,  and  with  new 
thoughts;  all  as  bright  and  sparkling  as  if  they  had  been  gathered 
from  a  lifetime  work. 

"It  will  be  well  for  the  cause  in  which  this  extraordinary  man 
is  engaged,  when  the  public  comes  to  understand  him  better  than 
they  do. 

"His  humor  in  the  pulpit  and  his  flights  of  imagination  in  illus- 
trating and  painting  the  vices  of  men,  as  well  as  his  own  transit, 
as  he  tells  it  himself,  from  a  bad  to  a  good  life  a  few  years  ago 
creates  a  doubt  in  the  minds  of  some  as  to  whether  he  is  not 
meteoric,  and  to  pass  away  into  the  darkness,  though  his  life  and 
works  now  penetrate  like  a  headlight, 

"What  we  would  like  to  impress  on  the  public  mind  is  that  his 
anecdotes  and  illustrations  are  parts  of  his  fixed  character;  that  they 
are  neither  idle  jests  nor  impulsive  action.     They  are  used  for  a 


Sam  p.  Jones.  149 

great  purpose;  and  further,  that  twelve  years  of  faithful  work 
without  a  break  is  a  good  guarantee  of  stability.  These  suggestions 
are  prompted  by  a  lively  sense  of  the  fact  that  the  whole  people  as 
well  as  the  church  have  a  deep  interest  in  a  man  of  such  wonderful 
powers  and  such  rare  courage.  His  influence  may  widen  until  his 
exalted  courage  may  be  a  standard  for  men  to  measure  by. 

"But,  nevertheless,  there  are  many  thinking  men  who  feel  a  deep 
interest  in  him,  that  believe  the  high  pinnacles  which  he  has  reached 
is  the  edge  of  a  precipice  over  which  he  may  fall  when  the  praises 
and  the  flattery  of  men  undermine  his  humility.  To  guard  against 
this  is  his  own  work." 

The  newspapers  were  devoting  much  time  and  space  in  reporting 
these  wonderful  meetings.  While  he  was  preaching  tO'  great  audi- 
ences in  the  tent,  there  were  also  thousands  being  reached  by  the 
press.  Here  is  where  it  first  appeared  that  the  press  could  not  report 
Mr.  Jones  adequately.  In  spite  of  the  best  reports,  they  failed  to  do 
him  justice.  This  was  true  down  to  the  close  of  his  life.  One  of 
the  papers,  in  speaking  of  this  very  fact,  used  the  following : 

"People  who  hear  the  great  Georgia  evangelist  from  day  to  day, 
and  then  read  the  newspaper  reports  of  his  sermons,  complain  that 
the  reports  do  not  do  him  justice,  and  this  is  true.  No  report  of  his 
sermons,  even  if  we  had  the  space  to  give  every  word,  would  do 
him  justice.  Besides  his  words,  there  is  a  magnetism  about  him 
which  becomes  a  part  of  the  sermon,  but  this  is  not  the  main  trouble 
about  the  reports.  Many  of  his  expressions  are  harsh.  They  are 
strong  and  harsh.  These  the  reporter  catches  and  utilizes  because 
they  are  so  striking  that  they  could  not  be  overlooked.  The  soft 
and  mollifying  words  which  accompany  them,  and  the  true  Chris- 
tian spirit  in  which  these  utterances  are  made  do  not  and  can  not 
acompany  the  report.  Mr.  Jones  is  now  being  thoroughly  discussed 
in  the  cities.  Every  class  of  people  seem  to  be  busy  in  asking  and 
answering  questions  about  him,  but  it  is  not  gossip  in  bad  sense. 
The  expressions  are  nearly  all  kindness.  The  voice  of  the  com- 
munity, however,  is  well-nigh  universal  in  its  praise  for  the  courage 
with  which  he  condemns  evil  practices  and  the  boldness  with  which 
he  declares  the  law,  regardless  of  the  station  in  life  where  the  prac- 


160  Sam  P.  Jones. 

tices  are  found.  People  love  a  courageous  man,  and  this  refined 
community  first  settling  that  he  is  a  good  man,  are  enthusiastic 
over  his  boldness  in  speaking  the  truth." 

This  great  revival  continued  for  three  weeks.  Mr.  Jones  held  a 
ntunber  of  special  meetings  for  men  and  women  which  were  largely 
attended,  and  resulted  in  great  good,  and  in  the  salvation  of  hun- 
dreds of  souls.    He  also  preached  before  the  State  Legislature. 

The  Banner  says :  "The  Forty-fourth  General  Assembly  may 
heartily  appreciate  the  compliment  bestowed  by  Rev.  Sam  Jones 
upon  their  distinguished  body.  He  not  only  carried  the  gospel  up 
Capitol  Hill  in  his  person,  but  dispensed  the  bread  of  life  in  lan- 
guage chaste  and  eloquent.  There  was  not  a  word  of  slang,  nor 
even  an  illusion  by  its  uglier  name  tO'  that  place  which  Bob  Ingersoll 
says  'has  no  local  habitation.'  There  is  a  marked  resemblance,  not 
alone  in  facial  organs  and  expressions,  but  in  size  and  build,  between 
General  Basil  Duke  and  Mr.  Jones.  One  might  by  more  than  a 
casual  acquaintance  be  taken  for  the  other. 

"The  General  Assembly  should  seriously  consider  one  of  his  sug- 
gestions at  least.  It  was  his  denunciation  of  the  policy  of  incarcer- 
ating boys  in  the  State  prison  with  confirmed  criminals.  It  is  a 
policy  by  which  the  State  helps  along  to  perdition  her  first  offenders 
whom  an  orphan  asylum  or  house  of  refuge  might  save  as  worthy 
members  of  society. 

"There  are  business  men  now  in  Louisville,  who,  if  they  had  been 
sent  to  the  State  Prison  (as  Tennessee  consigns  her  infant  crim- 
inals), at  tender  age  for  the  first  offense,  would  be  in  the  Kentucky 
penitentiary  to-day.  A  great  deal  of  his  talk  was  on  'Intemper- 
ance,' and  his  views  were  very  sane  and  sound.  He  created  quite 
a  favorable  impression  upon  that  august  body." 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  converts  of  this  great  meeting  was 
Captain  Tom  Ryman.  As  Mr.  Jones  often  said,  there  has  been  no 
more  wonderful  convert  to  God  in  the  nineteenth  century  than  Toni 
Rym?n,  of  Nashville.  He  went  to  the  meeting  as  others  did,  came 
to  the  altar,  knelt  down  like  a  child  and  gave  his  heart  to  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  He  was  an  old  steamboat  captain,  who  owned  a  num- 
ber of  steamboats  which  plied  the  Cumberland  River,  and  consid- 


REV.  SAM  P.  JONES  AT  TIME  OF  NASHVILLE  MEETING 


Sam  p.  Jones.  151 

-arable  property  along  the  wharf,  and  in  one  of  his  large  buildings 
he  had  a  large  saloon.  He  had  a  bar  on  each  of  his  steamboats, 
and  was  known  as  a  man  of  wealth.  He  was  brought  to  Christ  by 
the  preaching  of  Mr.  Jones,  and  became  a  Christian  in  dead  earnest. 
He  cleaned  out  the  bars  on  his  steamers,  tossed  his  liquors  over- 
board. His  saloon  was  converted  into  a  hall  for  religious  and  tem- 
perance meetings,  and  was  christened  "Sam  Jones  Hall."  He  also 
changed  the  name  of  one  of  his  largest  and  finest  steamers  to  the 
*'Sam  Jones." 

In  this  mission  hall  there  was  held  a  service  every  night.  Cap- 
tain Ryman  employed  mission  workers  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the 
fallen.  The  mission  was  located  in  one  of  the  worst  districts  of 
Nashville,  and  drunkards,  gamblers  and  the  fallen  assembled  night 
after  night  to  hear  the  simple  story  of  redeeming  love.  He  put 
forth  as  much  effort  to  save  the  erring  and  fallen  after  his  conver- 
sion as  he  did  to  drag  down  and  debauch  and  damn  them  before 
he  found  the  Savior.  The  good  work  of  the  mission  will  abide  for 
years  to  come.  Instead  of  having  cards  and  liquor  on  the  steamers, 
he  made  room  for  the  Bible^  and  found  time  for  prayer-meetings. 
The  gospel  was  preached  as  effectively  by  example  and  precept  on 
the  steamers  day  by  day  as  in  the  mission  hall  by  night. 

The  great  building  known  as  "The  Jones-Ryman  Auditorium," 
which  is  considered  the  finest  and  handsomest  auditorium  in  the 
South,  was  built  by  the  inspiration  of  Mr.  Jones,  with  the  financial 
aid  of  Mr.  Ryman.  A  few  years  since  Mr.  Ryman  died  and  his 
funeral  service  was  conducted  by  Mr.  Jones  at  the  auditorium.  At 
the  memorial  service  held  in  the  auditorium  in  memory  of  Mr. 
Jones,  a  rising  vote  of  the  thousands  packed  into  the  building, 
changed  its  name  to  "The  Jones-Ryman  Auditorium,"  in  honor  of 
Mr.  Jones,  who  inspired  it,  and  the  other  who  executed  the  plan. 

There  was  such  interest  manifested  in  Mr.  Jones  and  his  welfare 
that  an  effort  was  made  to  have  him  make  Nashville  his  permanent 
home.  The  citizens  offered  to  give  him  a  handsome  home  in  the 
city.    We  print  the  letter  tendering  Mr.  Jones  this  home : 


152  Sam  P.  Jones. 

"NASHVII.I.E,  Tenn.,  May  27,  1885. 
"Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones. 

"Our  Esteemed  Friend  and  Brother:  As  the  chosen  in- 
strument of  God  through  the  power  of  His  grace  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  you  have  done  a  great  work  in  this  city  in 
arousing  the  people  from  their  lethargy  in  the  conversion  of  very 
many  souls,  and  in  the  good  seed  sown,  which  will  surely  bring 
forth  an  abundant  harvest  hereafter  and  cause  the  lilies  of  peace  tc* 
spring  up  at  the  feet  of  many  and  the  glory  of  heaven  tO'  beckon  us 
all  on ;  as  appreciative  of  your  work,  and  believing  as  we  do  that  this 
central  city,  the  educational  and  religious  point  of  the  South,  would 
be  a  better  location  for  yourself  and  family,  we,  the  undersigned 
committee,  representing  subscriptions  from  all  classes,  races  and 
occupations  of  our  community,  tender  you  a  home  in  our  midst,  and 
sincerely  hope  that  no  field  other  than  the  best  location  for  the  pro- 
duction of  your  glorious  work  will  decide  your  answer. 

Trusting  it  will  be  favorable  to  an  acceptance  of  your  removal 
here,  we  remain,  with  the  best  wishes  of  our  hearts  for  continued 
happiness,  peace  and  comfort  to  you  and  yours. 

Very  sincerely, 

W.  H.  Jackson,  Chairman. 
J.  HoRTON  Faee^  Secretary." 

Interested  gentlemen  had  obtained  subscriptions  to  the  amount 
of  ten  thousand  dollars,  which  would  be  expended  in  purchasing  him 
a  home  if  it  would  be  accepted  as  a  permanent  residence.  The  letter 
was  handed  to  the  evangelist  at  the  residence  of  Captain  T.  G. 
Ryman,  where  he  was  invited  to  dine.  About  thirty  gentlemen  were 
present  when  Mr.  Jones  broke  the  envelope.  Its  generous  contents 
quite  unmanned  him  and  tears  gathered  in  his  eyes  when  he  knew  the 
deep  meaning  which  the  offer  expressed.  In  response,  he  wrote  as 
follows : 

"NASHVIEI.E,  Tenn.,  May  27,  1885. 
"Gen.  W.  H.  Jackson,  Chairman. 

"Dear  Sir  and  Brother:  Your  communication  of  this  date  was 
duly  received.    I  have  gratefully  and  prayerfully  considered  its  con- 


Sam  p.  JoN:es.        '  153 

tents.  It  pains  me  deeply  to  say  to  such  generous  friends  whom  1 
love  so  much  that  to  leave  my  home  and  State  involves  more  to  me 
than  I  feel  authorized  to  assume.  My  wife  feels  the  same  gratitude 
herself,  and  her  judgment  has  always  controlled  me  as  her  prayers 
have  sustained  me,  and  she,  for  reasons  which  control  a  mother's 
heart,  with  six  children  to  care  for  in  the  continued  absence  of  hus- 
band and  father,  is  disinclined  tO'  the  move.  You,  sir,  and  the  noble 
people  of  Nashville  shall  ever  have  our  prayers. 

"I  am  yours  with  my  eyes  full  of  tears  and  my  heart  full  of 
gratitude. 

Sam  p.  Jones.'' 

Before  leaving  the  city  arrangements  were  made  for  him  to  return 
.at  an  early  date  and  raise  money  to  put- the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  upon  a 
safe  basis.  The  management  had  anticipated  that  they  could  not 
erect  a  building  of  more  cost  than  thirty  thousand  dollars.  The 
donations  began  to  pour  in  and  the  amount  v/as  so-  encourag- 
ing that  it  soon  developed  the  fact  that  a  much  larger  sum 
could  be  realized.  The  hundreds  rolled  up  rapidly  and  in- 
terest deepened  every  moment.  In  half  an  hour  Secretary 
Humes  announced  that  fifteen  thousand  dollars  had  been  prom- 
ised. The  statement  gave  an  impetus  to  contributions,  and  a 
^contract  subscription  book.  The  appeals  of  Mr.  Jones  were  used  to 
marked  effect,  and  contributions  flowed  freely.  When  the  total 
-reached  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  the  excitement  grew  intense. 
At  half-past  ten  o'clock  the  subscriptions  had  run  to  a  still  larger 
•sum  and  solicitations  closed  for  the  night.  The  handsome  Y.  M. 
'^C.  A.  that  now  means  so  much  to  the  young  manhood  of  Nashville 
was  put  upon  a  permanent  basis  through  the  generosity  and  inspira- 
-tion  of  Mr.  Jones. 

Near  the  close  of  this  great  revival  the  people  began  to  raise  the 
•question  "Will  it  last?"  One  of  the  papers  answered  it  in  this  way: 
"The  meetings  have  been  going  on  for  about  twenty-one  days,  dur- 
ing which  time  Mr.  Jones  has  preached  three  or  four  times  a  day. 
At  the  time  of  this  writing,  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  the  crowd  at 
-;the  gospel  tent  is  a  sight  to  look  at,  the  whole  city  being  in  the 


^54  Sam  P.  Jon^s. 

notion  to  take  part  in  the  last  services.  The  effect  upon  this  com- 
miunity  has  been  wonderful,  and.  the  question  constantly  is  asked,. 
'Will  the  work  the  evangelist  has  done  last?'  But,  to  determine 
this  question,  the  nature  and  the  character  of  this  work  must  be 
considered.  We  are  not  now  considering  the  question  oi  con- 
version, whether  the  hundreds  who  have  professed  religion  have 
been  genuinely  converted ;  outside  of  this,  over  and  above  the  actual 
conversions,  the  preacher  has  impressed  the  community  as  it  was 
never  done  before.  Men  and  women  of  all  grades  of  society  have 
been  affected.  This  is  not  emotional.  Hundreds  of  men  have  quit 
swearing.  Many  men  who  drank  publicly  have  quit  it,  and  there 
is  in  the  minds  of  all  our  best  citizens  that  the  city  is  in  a  better 
condition,  so  far  as  the  morals  of  society  and  the  habits  of  men  are 
concerned.  The  best  evidence  that  the  work  will  be  lasting  is  found 
in  the  fact  that  all  our  best  citizens  are  rejoicing  in  the  change  and 
in  the  fact  that  a  great  many  men  hitherto  on  the  wrong  side  have 
openly  and  before  the  world  changed  front.  Whether  this  work 
shall  last  depends  in  some  measure  on  the  future  life  of  himi  who 
performed  it.  Mr,  Jones  will  leave  Nashville  with  the  eyes  of  fifty 
thousand  people  following  him.  As  long  as  our  good  people  can  turn 
to  him,  to  his  growing  fam-e,  and  say  he  is  still  humble,  he  is  still  a 
devout  man,  he  still  practices  what  he  preaches,  they  will,  with 
pleasure  a;nd  pride  acknowledge  his  precepts,  recognize  his  leader- 
ship and  uphold  the  moral  structure  which  he  has  erected.  Judging 
from  his  lofty  bearing,  great  intellectual  strain,  and  unostentatious 
piety,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  he  will  not  fall." 

In  closing  the  account  of  the  great  work  in  Nashville,  we  wish 
to  include  an  editorial  that  appeared  in  the  Christian  Advocate,  May 
30,  1885.  As  Mr.  Jones  was  a  Methodist  and  the  Advocate  the 
general  organ  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  South,  it  seems  fitting  that  this 
editorial  estimate  should  be  inserted  at  the  close  of  this  chapter.  It 
is  impossible  to  publish  the  entire  account,  as  it  covers  four  columns 
in  the  Advocate.    We  insert  the  first  two  paragraphs : 

"Sam  Jones  'has  the  floor.'  His  sayings  and  doings  are  the  cur- 
rent subject  of  conversation,  not  only  in  Nashivlle,  but  all  over  the 
immense  region  of  which  it  is  the  geographical  and  literary  center. 


Sam  p.  JoN:es.  155 

He  is  the  man  of  the  hour.  His  preaching  in  Nashvihe  during  the 
past  two  weeks  has  been  attended  by  unprecedented  crowds,  and  with 
the  most  extraordinary  results.  Drunkards  have  renounced  their 
hquor-drinking;  gamblers  have  given  up  their  evil  occupation; 
church-members,  convicted  of  complicity  with  sin,  have  broken  off 
from  wrong  courses;  thousands  of  persons  of  all  ages,  sexes,  and 
grades  of  society  have  publicly  announced  their  purpose  to  give  up 
their  sins  and  lead  better  lives.  The  Tennessee  newspaper  press 
has  discussed  the  man  editorially;  all  concede  his  remarkable  power, 
but  differ  in  their  analysis  of  its  constituent  elements.  With 
scarcely  an  exception  they  accord  to  him  not  only  genius  of  a  rare 
quality  but  evident  honesty  and  glowing  zeal  for  God  and  love  to 
man. 

"The  pastors  and  Christian  people  of  the  various  churches  of 
Nashville  have  heartily  co-operated  with  the  evangelist  in  his 
labors,  and  while  this  is  a  season  of  salvation  for  sinners  it  is  a  love- 
feast  for  the  saints.  Presbyterians,  Baptists,  Disciples,  Cumber- 
land Presbyterians,  and  Methodists,  are  all  united  in  the  great 
revival,  their  pastors  sitting  together  on  the  platform  in  the  big 
tent,  and  working  together  in  conducting  the  exercises  of  singing, 
praying,  and  instructing  inquirers.  This  feature  of  this  wonderful 
occasion  is  especially  gratifying  to  us.  Christians  must  come  closer 
together  and  work  more  unitedly  before  they  bring  the  world  to 
Christ.  These  union  services  in  Nashville  under  the  leadership  of 
'Sam'  Jones  point  in  this  direction.  Greater  things  than  these  will 
be  seen  before  this  generation  passes.  But  he  must  be  seen  and 
lieard  to  be  appreciated." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


In  Missouri  and  St.  Louis. 

After  Mr.  Jones  left  Nashville,  he  conducted  several  .brief  meet- 
ings in  smaller  cities,  and  visited  some  camp-meetings  and  chau- 
tauqua  assemblies.  In  July,  1885,  he  held  a  great  tent-meeting  at 
Murfreesboro,  Tennessee.  The  influence  of  his  work  in  Nashville 
had  extended  to  Murfreesboro,  and  he  found  a  religious  atmos- 
phere when  he  began  the  work  there.  While  the  opportunities  were 
not  as  large  as  those  in  Nashville,  the  work  was  intensely  spiritual, 
and  the  whole  town  practically  converted.  Some  of  the  most  promi- 
nent men  were  reached,  and  many  of  the  most  wicked,  including 
barkeepers,  were  converted.  One  morning  just  after  the  early 
prayer-service,  a  leading  saloon-keeper  hauled  his  liquor  down  to 
the  station  and  sent  it  back  to  the  wholesale  house  in  Nashville,  and 
abandoned  the  business  altogether.  The  audiences  were  immense, 
people  coming  from  Nashville  and  the  surrounding  country, 
and  the  town  was  completely  revolutionized.  He  went  over  to 
Monteagle  Assembly  and  preached  a  few  times  before  the  great 
Chautauqua.  From  there  he  visited  High  Bridge  (Kentucky)  camip- 
meeting,  and  spent  a  few  days.  His  ministry  was  attended  by  thou- 
sands at  this  famous  camping-ground.  Many  were  converted,  while 
others  refused  to  yield  to  Christ.  One  of  the  saddest  incidents  con- 
nected with  his  preaching  there  followed  one  of  his  earnest  sermons, 
when  a  young  stalwart  fellow  who  had  been  standing  listening  for 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes,  turned  with  an  oath  on  his  lips,  and  said 
that  he  had  enough  of  that.  He  walked  down  to  the  station  and 
stood  but  a  few  minutes,  when  a  train  came  along.  He  grabbed  at 
the  ladder  at  the  side  of  the  car,  missed  his  balance  and  fell,  and  the 
wheels  crushed  him,  and  he  was  in  the  presence  of  God  in  less  than 
twenty  minutes  from  the  time  that  he  turned  with  an  oath  upon  his.. 
lips. 

(156J 


Sam  p.  JoN:es.  157 

Part  of  August  was  spent  in  Cartersville,  at  his  tent-meeting, 
which  had  been  inaugurated  the  year  before. 

His  first  work  in  Missouri  was  at  Plattsburg.  He  had  spent  a 
few  days  there  in  July,  at  the  camp-meeting,  and  returned  in  Sep- 
tember to  hold  revival  services.  The  committee  in  charge  of  the 
camp-meeting  asked  him  to  come  there  ten  years  in  succession,  and 
promised  to  make  any  kind  of  preparation  that  he  might  wish.  He 
agreed,  if  possible,  to  visit  their  annual  gathering,  and  for  several 
years  had  charge  of  the  great  camp-meeting  at  the  famous  Mineral 
Springs.  The  revival  that  he  conducted  in  the  fall  was  in  many 
respects  one  of  the  greatest  in  his  life.  He  repeatedly  preached  to 
ten  thousand  people,  and  frequently  there  were  at  least  twenty  thou- 
sand who  were  trying  to  hear  him.  Thousands  of  these  hearers 
were  converted,  and  the  atmosphere  of  the  town  and  surrounding 
country  was  wonderfully  purified. 

Before  leaving  Plattsburg,  he  preached  his  famous  sermon  on 
"Prisoners  of  Hope."  There  were  three  or  four  special  newspaper 
reporters  from  St.  Louis  and  other  leading  cities,  and  during  the 
sermon  they  forgot  to  report  his  words,  and  for  ten  or  fifteen  min- 
utes sat  there  with  their  mouths  wide  open.  When  he  went  back 
to  his  tent,  he  locked  the  door,  and  those  reporters  beat  and  banged 
on  the  door  to  get  him  to  reproduce  that  part  of  the  sermon  which 
they  had  lost.  He  seemed  to  be  inspired  while  covering  that  im- 
pressive part  of  his  sermon,  and  spoke  as  he  never  did  before,  or 
since,  about  the  immortal  life  of  his  sainted  mother.  He  described 
how  she  died,  and  the  impression  that  death  made  upon  his  youthful 
mind.  He  pictured  a  long,  weary  journey  back  to  the  graveyard 
where  she  was  buried.  He  said,  "I  must  see  her  again,  must  look 
into  her  eyes  and  see  her  sweet  form."  In  his  imagination  he  stood 
there,  with  a  shovel  in  his  hand,  opening  the  grave,  and  with  each 
shovel  of  dirt,  he  would  say,  "I  must  see  my  mother  again."  He 
went  through  all  the  motions.  Finally,  he  reached  down  with  both 
hands,  and  picked  up  a  handful  of  dust,  and  standing  there  in  the 
most  dramatic  way — Booth  himself  never  saw  the  day  he  could  have 
equaled  it — and  such  a  look  of  disappointment  that  came  over  his 
face,  as  he  stood  there  speechless  for  a  moment.     He  said,  "Is  that 


158  Sam  P.  Jones. 

my  mother?  Is  that  all  that  is  left  of  my  precious  mother?"  How 
awful  was  the  suspense  of  that  moment.  Slowly  he  moved  his  posi- 
tion, and  standing  under  the  arc  light,  he  looked  away  towards 
heaven,  and  a  smile  came  upon  his  face,  then  he  exclaimed :  "Yes, 
1  shall  see  my  mother  again."  Repeating  Paul's  words,  "This  cor- 
ruption shall  put  on  incorruption ;  this  mortal  shall  put  on  immor- 
tality," with  his  face  radiant,  he  said :  "In  the  light  of  this  beautiful 
scripture,  my  mother  is  transformed  into  an  angel  of  light,  and  she 
hovers  over  me  on  loving  pendant  wings,  and  beckons  me  up  to  her 
home  on  high,  where  I  shall  see  my  mother  again."    ■ 

The  next  great  meeting  was  at  St.  Joseph.  One  of  the  largest 
tents  that  could  be  had  was  secured,  and  the  attendance  from  the 
city  and  adjoining  towns  was  as  large  as  at  Plattsburg.  The  m.ost 
prominent  men,  including  physicians,  lawyers,  judges,  and  million- 
aires were  converted  at  this  meeting.  A  very  striking  story  appeared 
m  the  morning  paper  to  this  effect :  "Jones  is  not  doing  much  with 
the  thirty."  Next  morning  the  papers  said  :  "The  thirty  were  pretty 
well  represented  at  the  meeting."  ]\Ir.  Jones  said  to  some  friends, 
'■'What  does  this  thirty  business  mean?"  "Oh,"  they  replied,  "there 
are  in  this  city  thirty  millionaires ;  thirty  men  in  the  world  worth 
over  one  million."  While  some  of  those  men  were  true,  noble,  gen- 
erous Christians,  the  majority  of  them  were  not,  and  the  m.eeting 
did  not  make  much  impression  upon  them,  as  the  spirit  of  the  work 
was  in  conflict  with  their  lives.  However,  some  of  them  were  finally 
converted,  and- joined  the  church.  Mr.  Jones  said  to  one  of  the 
wealthiest  of  them :  "Well,  my  brother,  you  have  disposed  of  your 
soul,  you  have  given  it  to  God,  but  3'ou  have  a  heap  harder  job  left 
before  you  what  to  do  with  your  money.  You  had  better  begin  to 
unload  now.  Shell  down  the  corn,  for  if  you  are  ever  damned,  it 
will  be  by  your  money.  Mark  what  I  tell  you.  If  I  had  one-tenth 
cf  the  money  some  of  you  men  have  in  this  town,  and  did  not  do 
any  better  with  it  than  you  do,  the  devil  would  get  me  as  certain  as 
my  name  is  Sam  Jones,  and  if  you  have  got  as  much  sense  as  I  have, 
and  you  don't  get  up  from  where  you  are,  the  devil  will  get  you  sure; 
you  can  put  that  down."  This  is  just  one  of  the  many  remarkable 
incidents  that  happened  at  St.  Joseph.    A  very  substantial  result  of 


Sam  p.  Jonks.  159 

the  meeting  was  raising  the  money  for  a  handsome  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
building. 

It  was  in  St.  Louis  where  Mr,  Jones  waged  the  greatest  battle 
in  Missouri.  He  went  there  on  the  sole  invitation  of  Dr.  W.  V. 
Tudor,  pastor  of  the  Centenary  Methodist  church,  sustained  by  the 
official  board  and  congregation  of  that  church. 

The  meting  began  in  the  Centenary  Methodist  church,  on  Sun- 
day morning,  in  November  of  1885.  Dr.  Tudor  met  Mr.  Jones  at 
the  station,  and  about  the  first  thing  that  happened  after  the  preach- 
ers shook  hands  was  an  incident  that  was  typical  of  Mr.  Jones.  The 
inevitable  reporter  was  on  hand,  and  playfully  intimated  that  his 
paper  intended  to  deal  with  Mr.  Jones.  The  preacher's  reply  was : 
"Pitch  in,  brother;  there  is  nothing  I  despise  more  than  a  dull 
time."    Mr.  Jones  was  entertained  at  the  home  of  Dr.  Tudor. 

It  wasn't  long  after  his  arrival  in  St.  L^ouis  until  Mr.  Jones  had 
a  hold  upon  the  city,  and  the  other  churches  were  opened  for  serv- 
ices. The  preachers  were  cooperating  and  uniting  in  the  meetings. 
From  first  to  last  he  had  the  ear  of  the  people,  as  no  other  man  rarely 
had.  The  crowds  at  the  church  were  so  large  that  one  could  scarcely 
get  standing-room.  The  prominent  preachers  gave  their  support 
and  endorsement  to  the  great  work  of  Mr.  Jones. 

The  day  services  were  continued  in  the  different  churches.  Some 
of  the  services  were  held  at  the  St.  John  Methodist  church;  others 
at  the  Compton  Avenue  Presbyterian  church,  and  still  others  in  the 
Centenary  Methodist  church,  where  the  meeting  began.  Great 
crowds  thronged  these  respective  places  of  worship  every  day.  A 
very  amusing  little  incident  happened  at  one  of  the  day  services  in 
Centenary  church.  It  is  an  example  of  the  exquisite  aptness  and 
humor  of  Mr.  Jones's  illustrations.  He  was  conducting  an  expe- 
rience meeting  one  afternoon.  Finally,  a  godly  woman  stood  up 
and  gave  one  of  the  sweetest  of  testimonies,  which  was  backed  by 
her  faith  and  piety.  But  before  she  sat  down,  as  w^as  usual  with 
her  she  fell  into  the  falsetto,  which  she  called  shouting,  and  pres- 
ently remarked,  "Brother  Jones,  Dr.  Tudor  doesn't  like  to  hear  me 
shout.  Whenever  I  do,  he  'rings'  me  down."  As  the  good  old  wo- 
man resumed  her  seat.  Brother  Jones  said,  "Well,  sister,  I  do  not  ob- 


160  Sam  p.  Jones. 

ject  to  shouting,  but  some  people  when  they  shout  are  Hke  a  Httle 
steamer  I  know  of  on  the  Coosa  river,  in  Alabama.  She  has  a  big 
whistle,  but  a  very  small  boiler,  and  every  time  she  blows  her  whistle 
she  stops — she  can't  blow  and  run  at  the  same  time." 

St.  Louis  was  the  largest  city  in  the  South  or  Southwest  that  Mr. 
Jones  had  visited.  However,  he  had  held  meetings  in  larger  cities, 
as  he  had  been  in  Brooklyn  with  Dr.  Talmage.  The  great  "Metrop- 
olis of  the  Southwest,"  with  its  great  national  dailies,  furnished  him 
a  larger  scope  and  a  greater  field  than  any  other  city  he  had  visited. 
The  wickedness  and  sinfulness  of  the  city  furnished  him  with  ma- 
terial he  had  not  run  across  heretofore.  While  the  opportunities 
were  the  very  greatest,  there  were  many  difficulties  that  had  to  be 
confronted. 

The  newspapers  of  St.  Louis  did  a  great  deal  toward  keeping 
Mr.  Jones  and  his  work  before  the  public.  The  Glohe-Deynocrat 
was  in  a  position  to  give  him  greater  publicity  than  the  Memphis  or 
Nashville  papers,  where  he  had  held  the  two  greatest  meetings  of 
bis  life.  The  editor  of  the  Globe-Democrat  liked  Mr.  Jones  and 
published  verbatim  reports  of  his  sermon.  The  editorial  comments 
were  very  favorable.  This  paper  brought  him  into  greater  promi- 
nence than  any  other  one  had  up  to  that  time.  In  later  years  the 
newspapers  claimed  that  they  had  made  Sam  Jones.  Mr.  Jones 
replied :  "Well,  why  don't  you  make  another?"  As  far  as  the  news- 
papers could  contribute  towards  the  making  of  Mr.  Jones,  the 
Globe-Democrat  did  its  share.  The  interest  the  Globe-Democrat 
took  in  Mr.  Jones  created  just  a  little  friction  between  the  great 
Catholic  editor  and  the  Catholic  priest — however,  the  editor  con- 
tinued to  give  full  accounts  of  the  meetings.  This  little  press  no- 
tice which  has  reference  to  the  priest  and  the  Globe-Democrat  is 
worthy  of  a  place  here :  "Father  Phelan  continues  his  sectarian  as- 
saults upon  Sam  Jones,  but  the  great  religious  daily  paper  prefer- 
uing  the  orthodox  to  the  sectarian  continues  to  be  the  organ  of  Sam 
Jbnes." 

While  there  was  created  a  great  deal  of  antagonism  towards  Mr. 
Jones  and  his  methods,  still  the  services  continued  to  gain  mo- 
mentum, as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  clipping: 


Sam  p.  Jones.  161 

"Ten  days  have  the  meetings  been  held;  three  regular  services 
daily  in  Centenary  church,  and  in  the  great  Music  Hall.  Mr.  Jones 
gathers  the  crowd.  The  Music  Hall  was  packed  with  men  on  Sun- 
day afternoon.  So  large  an  audience  of  men  never  listened  to  a 
preacher  before  in  the  history  of  this  city.  The  object  in  holding  a 
meeting  'for  men  only'  was  that  they  might  be  able  to  hear.  The 
sermon  was  grand,  strong,  and  very  effective,  and  contained  nothing 
which  might  not  have  been  delivered  before  any  audience.  It  was 
pure  enough  diction  for  any  pulpit.  The  preacher  so  far  has  been 
directing  his  discourses  to  the  church.  The  errors,  follies  and  sins 
of  the  church  have  been  exposed,  reproved,  satirized,  ridiculed,  de- 
nounced. The  general  tenor  of  the  sermons  has  been  an  echo  of 
the  demand  made  by  the  stern  preacher  in  the  wilderness,  'Bring 
forth,  therefore,  fruits  meet  for  repentance.'  The  work,  hencefor- 
ward, is  to  have  more  direct  reference  to  non-professors.  The 
preacher  has  gained  a  good  position  for  his  work  in  this  respect,  his 
plain  dealing  with  professors  having  given  him  the  ear  and  confi- 
dence of  outsiders,  and  we  expect  good  work  to  be  done  in  the  fur- 
ther progress  of  the  meeting. 

"A  large  number  of  our  preachers  attend  the  meetings.  Many 
ministers  of  other  denominations  are  hearing  Mr.  Jones  with  inter- 
est. They  admire  his  strong  common  sense,  and  feel  that  all  the 
peculiarities  of  manner  and  style  which  the  fastidious  criticise  are 
of  little  importance  compared  with  the  brave,  true  heart  and  prac- 
tical sense  that  give  to  his  sermons  their  general  character  and  tone. 

"No  one  can  accuse  Sam  Jones  of  an  affected  style,  or  of  relying 
on  anything  but  the  truth  and  the  Spirit  of  God  for  success.  And  as 
to  his  rough  speeches,  the  people  have  not  found  him  as  rude  in 
speech  as  they  expected.  Either  reports  have  been  exaggerated,  or 
the  preacher  has  somewhat  changed. 

"Several  persons  went  forward  for  prayers  this  morning  (Tues- 
day), and  there  were  nearly  a  hundred  requested  prayers  last  night 
at  the  hall. 

"Many  of  our  young  preachers  have  come  desiring,  as  is  com- 
mendable, to  take  lessons  from  Mr.  Jones's  preaching.  If  they  carry 
-away  something  of  the  simplicity  and  honesty  and  zeal  of  the  evan- 


162  Sam  P.  Jones. 

gelist  they  will  be  profited  by  hearing  him.  If  they  try  to  imitate 
his  language  they  will  sadly  blunder ;  if  they  make  him  a  model  in 
style  they  will  make  themselves  ridiculous.  We  do  not  suggest  that 
Sam  Jones  makes  himself  ridiculous.  Ragged  bowlders  seem  in 
place  upon  the  side  of  a  mountain,  but  would  be  out  of  harmony  on 
a  hillock.    There  is  the  harmony  of  naturalness  in  Sam  Jones." 

There  was  very  little  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  newspapers. 
They  were  very  generous  in  their  editorial  comments,  and  allowed 
much  space  in  their  reportorial  department.  This  was  greatly  ap- 
preciated, not  only  in  St  Louis,  but  in  the  surroundmg  country. 
We  notice  a  communication  to  the  Globe-Democrat  of  December  2, 
1885,  saying:  "I  beg  to  assure  you  that  your  wonderful  interest  in 
publishing  the  sermons  of  Sam  Jones  is  duly  appreciated  by  your 
country  friends.  They  are  a  great  benediction  to  thousands  of  the 
great  North  and  Southwest.  I  have  been  traveling  nine  years  into 
St.  Louis,  and  all  the  train  boys  and  newspaper  dealers  everywhere 
tell  me  they  sell  five  Glohe-Democrats  to  one  Repuhlic.an.  There 
is  such  a  demand  now  for  Sam  Jones's  sermons  that  the  boys  on  the 
train  run  out  of  the  papers  frequently  before  they  reach  me,  and 
copies  are  sold  in  advance  of  the  newspaper.  Send  more  out  to  the 
boys.     Hurrah  for  the  Globe-Democrat  and  Sam  Jones." 

However,  the  Globe-Democrat  freely  admits  that  it  does  not  un- 
derstand the  methods  of  Mr.  Jones.  It  says  when  the  professing 
Christians  of  Nashville  secured  Sam  Jones  to  convert  the  publicans 
and  sinners  of  that  town,  they  were  no  more  able  to  understand  his 
methods  than  is  the  Globe-Democrat.  "We  brought  you  here  to 
pitch  into  the  sinners,"  said  the  committee  on  grievances,  "and  here 
you  are  pitching  into  us  and  not  saying  a  word  about  the  sinners. 
What  sort  of  a  way  is  this?"  "Now,  never  you  mind,"  said  the 
Georgia  Member  of  the  Democratic  Church  militant,  "I  haven't 
come  to  the  sinners  yet — I  never  scald  hogs  until  I  get  my  water 
hot." 

The  St.  Louis  Republican  was  equally  as  generous  in  reporting 
Mr.  Jones's  work  as  the  Globe-Democrat.  They  did  not  give  ver- 
batim reports  of  his  sermons,  but  wrote  up  the  meetings  in  a  ver}' 
impartial  way.     They  also  had  a  number  of  editorial  estimates  of 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  163 

Mr.  Jones  and  his  work,  which  were  very  fine.  We  insert  one  of 
these : 

"Rev.  Samuel  Jones,  of  Georgia,  'EvangeHst,'  if  you  prefer  it — 
though  he  calls  himself  plain  'Sam  Jones' — is  a  man  who  challenges 
■our  admiring  wonder,  as  a  combination  of  Sidney  Smith,  Francis 
Bacon,  Sancho  Panza,  and  Josh  Billings,  with  a  strong  leaven  of 
the  Major  Jones  of  Georgia,  who  was  so  well  known  before  the 
war.  Perhaps,  the  Rev.  Sam  Jones  and  the  Major  are  of  blood  kin, 
but  though  they  certainly  have  qualities  in  common,  the  preacher 
Jones  is  a  much  greater  man  and  one  destined  to  a  greater  celebrity 
than  the  late  officer  in  the  Georgia  militia.  Since  the  Republican, 
north  of  the  Ohio  river,  discovered  this  new  Georgia  wonder,  our 
readers  are  not  unacquainted  with  him,  but  he  is  a  man  who  grows 
on  you  with  acquaintance.  He  never  opens  his  mouth  but  there 
issues  a  stream  of  constant  truth,  hom.e-made  proverbs  and  Georgia 
maxims  which  stick  in  the  memories  of  those  who  hear  or  read 
them.  Some  of  his  sayings  are  full  of  a  deep  philosophy,  and  he 
says  nothing  without  force,  because  he  says  nothing  that  he  does 
not  believe.  'Talk  about  an  honest  man  starving  to  death,'  he  says 
in  a  recent  sermon,  'they  won't  starve.  God  will  feed  an  honest 
man  if  he  has  to  put  the  angels  on  half  rations.'  That  sentence  is  a 
religion,  a  code  of  morals,  a  creed  and  a  system  of  philosophy  in  it- 
self, all  compact  enough  to  carry  in  the  vest  pocket  for  ready  refer- 
ence in  everything  from  trading  off  a  glandered  horse  to  giving  a 
decision  from  the  Supreme  bench.  The  man  who  believes  that  God 
will  put  the  angels  on  half  rations  before  he  would  let  an  honest 
man  starve,  is  not  likely  to  steal,  staiwe  or  beg. 

"  'What's  culture  worth,'  inquires  he  in  another  connection.  'It's 
only  whitewash  on  a  rascal.  I'd  rather  have  to  learn  my  A,  B,  C's 
in  heaven  than  to  know  Greek  in  hell.'  He  does  not  mean  that  cul- 
ture is  worthless,  but  simply  that  culture  is  worthless  and  an  evil 
without  honesty.  He  prays  God  to  keep  his  boy  pure  and  honest, 
though  the  child  dies  a  fool,  forgetting  only  that  it  is  the  fool  who 
is  most  apt  to  be  dishonest.  Though  his  philosophy  is  frequently 
narrow,  it  is  always  strong,  even  in  its  inconsistencies.  It  is  not  be- 
coming in  a  man  of  his  inflexible  opinions  to  denounce  opinion,  but 
he  does  it,  nevertheless,  in  a  homely  and  forcible  style." 


16  i  Sam  P.  Jones. 

While  in  Missouri  and  St.  Louis  Mr.  Jones  did  not  lose  an  oppor- 
tunity to  preach  against  the  liquor  traffic.  In  fact,  from  the  very 
first  time  he  ever  opened  his  mouth  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  until 
the  last  sermon  fell  from  his  lips  before  going  to  heaven,  there  were 
very  few  sermons  in  which  he  did  not  preach  directly  against  the 
traffic  or  by  suggestion  hurl  his  truths  at  this  national  evil.  In  his 
great  meetings  in  Memphis  and  in  Nashville  he  poured  out  his  soul 
in  denouncing  the  evils  of  the  saloon.  In  both  of  those  cities  he 
converted  hundreds,  and  perhaps  thousands,  from  the  intoxicating 
cup,  and  created  a  powerful  sentiment  against  the  business. 

In  his  preaching  against  the  liquor  traffic  he  was  taken  to  task  by 
the  Globe-Democrat.  In  one  of  his  masterful  sermons  on  "Sowing 
and  Reaping"  he  answers  the  Globe-Democrat  in  the  following  way  : 

"  'Whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he  also  reap,'  is  as  true  in 
a  spiritual  and  moral  sense  as  it  is  in  a  physical.  You  sow  whisky 
and  reap  drunkards.  The  man  who  disputes  that  disputes  premises 
as  sound  as  eternity  and  conclusions  as  clear  as  the  mind  of  God.  The 
Globe-Democrat  takes  exceptions  to  what  I  said  about  sixty  thousand 
marching  to  hell  by  the  whisky  route  yearly.  Well,  it  looks  like  it, 
when  there  are  twelve  hundred  barrooms  in  St.  Louis  swinging 
them  into  line,  three  thousand  in  Chicago,  and  Kansas  City  sprin- 
kled all  over  with  them  like  the  stars  of  night.  Wherever  there  is  a 
barroom  that  means  ten  men  that  will  never  recross  the  line.  Di- 
rectly and  indirectly  I  have  not  near  come  up  to  the  mark  when  I 
said  sixty  thousand  would  go  into  a  drunkard's  grave  in  America. 
The  cussing,  black-mouthed  barkeeper  is  a  gentleman  and  a  Chris- 
tian by  the  side  of  a  town  that  will  license  or  permit  it  to  be  sold. 
God  pity  a  quack  doctor  that  carries  his  saddlebag  full  of  whisky 
and  prescribes  it  for  everything.  He  is  not  good  enough  to  be  a  dog^ 
much  less  a  doctor." 

This  unique  and  fearless  manner  of  preaching  was  stirring  the  en- 
tire city.  He  was  making  an  impression  upon  the  great  lawyers, 
business  men,  ministers,  and  editors  as  few  men  have  been  able  to 
do  in  the  pulpit.  The  Globe-Democrat  about  this  time  said :  "Sam 
Jones  is  a  bright  streak  in  the  moral  heaven.  The  St.  John  M.  E. 
Church  last  night  was  crowded,  chairs  being  placed  in  every  nook  and 


Sam  p.  Jones.  165 

corner  and  the  Sunday-school  connecting  this  with  the  main  audi- 
ence-room was  also  filled.  Mr.  Jones  stood  on  a  platform  near  the 
doorway,  between  the  two  rooms,  and  preached  as  he  never  preached 
in  St.  Louis  before.  He  reasoned  with  his  hearers,  told  them  of 
God's  persistent  love,  wept  as  he  recited  his  own  religious  sorrows, 
grew  solemn  and  serious  as  he  depicted  the  day  of  God's  wrath,  and 
succeeded  in  making  a  deep  and  lasting  impression. 

"The  platform  was  crowded  with  the  ministers  of  the  city,  who 
were  deeply  impressed  with  the  magnificent  sermon  that  he  had 
preached." 

Here  is  a  message  to  the  husband  taken  from  that  memorable  ser- 
mon on  "The  Calls  of  God,"  as  he  delivered  it  that  night:  "I  just 
want  to  look  at  every  man  to-night  who  has  a  good  religious  wife. 
I  want  to  say  this  to  you,  and  may  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God  burn  it 
into  your  conscience.  Listen  to  me,  friends,  listen.  The  man  who 
stamps  upon  a  good  wife's  heart  and  almost  crushes  the  last  drop  of 
blood  out  of  it,  let  me  say  to  you,  sir,  you  owe  that  wife  a  debt  that 
3^ou  can  never  pay  her  until  you  pay  it  at  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ. 
You  owe  those  innocent  children  that  throw  their  arms  around  your 
neck  and  love  you  with  all  their  hearts — you  owe  those  precious  inno- 
cent children  a  debt  that  you  never  can  pay  until  you  pay  it  with  your 
wife  around  the  consecrated  altar  of  God.  It  is  a  source  of  everlast- 
ing joy  to  me  as  I  live.  [Tears  here  coursed  down  the  cheeks  of  Mr. 
Jones.]  I  had  at  my  home  a  precious  child  when  I  was  a  wicked, 
wayward,  godless  man.  It  is  the  only  sweet  child  I  had  who  ever 
looked  in  my  face  when  I  was  not  a  Christian.  That  child  is  in 
heaven,  but,  thank  God,  I  have  no  other  child  that  looked  in  its 
father's  face  when  he  was  not  trying  to  serve  God  and  do  right. 

"Oh,  friend,  when  you  talk  about  children !  If  you  can  not  touch' 
a  man  when  you  bring  to  bear  upon  him  the  relations  of  his  precious 
children,  then  he  is  dead  to  everything  that  is  noble  and  pure  and 
good.  God  is  going  to  take  something  from  us.  As  I  said  just  now, 
there  is  many  a  happy  circle  in  this  town,  but  you  mark  what  I  say  at 
this  moment,  you  had  better  look  out.  God  don't  like  the  way  you 
are  doing,  brother.  He  don't  like  the  example  you  are  setting  your 
children,  and  if  God  takes  two  or  three  of  your  sweet  children  to 
heaven  this  winter,  you  are  going  to  be  a  better  father  to  those  that 
are  left;  now,  mark  what  I  say." 


IfiG  Sam  P.  Jonds. 

The  interest  increased  until  there  was  no  church  in  the  city  that 
could  begin  to  accommodate  the  tremendous  crowds  that  sought  to 
hear  Mr.  Jones.  In  order  to  give  the  people  a  chance  to  hear  him, 
the  Music  Hall  was  rented  at  an  expense  of  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  dollars  a  night,  and  its  doors  thrown  open  to  the  public.  He 
literally  preached  his  way  into  the  hearts  of  the  people  until  he 
crowded  himself  out  of  the  largest  churches  and  made  it  absolutely 
necessary  for  him  to  have  larger  quarters. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


In  Missouri  and  St.  Louis  (Continued). 

In  making  the  announcement  of  the  change  from  the  churches  to 
the  auditorium,  Mr.  Jones  said : 

"To-morrow  night  you  can  expect  us  at  the  exposition  building, 
where  we  will  have  plenty  of  room.  I  don't  say  this  in  a  boasting 
spirit.  I  am  human  and  I  use  the  personal  pronoun  'I,'  but  it  is  all 
for  God,  and  there  is  nothing  which  I  have  that  He  can  not  have — 
every  cent  I  have,  or  even  my  life.  I  don't -ask  you  to  endorse  my 
method ;  I  don't  reckon  your  endorsement  would  help  me  or  benefit 
you.  I  seek  only  God's  endorsement  and  no  other's,  not  even  my 
wife's  or  children's;  or  even  my  mother's  if  she  were  alive.  I  want 
every  Christian  minister  in  this  town  to  take  stock  in  this  revival. 
It  is  true  I  am  a  Methodist,  but  I  don't  have  sectarianism  in  this 
fight.  Methodism  is  only  a  duster ;  when  I  get  to  heaven  I  will  take 
it  off,  and  go  in  wearing  the  cloth  coat  under  it.  Some  people  don't 
believe  in  revivals.  A  young  lady,  whose  father  was  a  minister,  once 
said  to  me :  'My  father  doesn't  believe  in  revivals,'  and  I  answered : 
'Then  your  father  and  the  devil  agree  on  that  point,  no  matter  on 
what  other  points  they  differ.' 

"Once  a  minister  said  that  his  church  was  the  true  church,  and  I 
replied  that  his  church  was  only  a  crocheting  society.  That  preacher 
looked  as  if  he  didn't  like  my  reply,  but  after  thinking  the  matter 
over  and  writing  me  a  letter  touching  on  the  subject,  I  next  heard 
of  him  standing  up  in  his  own  church  and  saying,  'Sam  Jones  was 
right.'  " 

When  we  remember  that  Mr.  Jones  went  to  St.  Louis  for  a 
Methodist  m.eeting  to  be  held  at  Centenary  church,  and  was  prac- 
tically a  stranger  in  the  city,  the  people  knowing  nothing  of  him  or 
his  work  but  what  they  had  gathered  from  the  newspapers,  that  he- 

(167) 


1^^8  Sam  p.  Jones. 

should  have  crowds  demanding  such  a  building,  is  really  a  marvel. 
What  preacher  living  or  dead  could  have  gotten  such  a  hold  upon 
the  city  ?  Perhaps  some  thought  that  he  would  be  unable  to  fill  the 
.great  Music  Hall,  but  a  notice  appears  in  the  daily  paper  which 
speaks  of  his  first  appearance  in  the  Music  Hall : 

"Sam  Jones  drew  a  crowd  last  night  that  filled  the  great  Music 
Hall  in  the  exposition  building,  and  nobody  left  the  hall  until  the 
benediction  had  been  pronounced.  Several  times  during  his  address 
he  was  heartily  applauded.  There  were  plenty  of  other  occasions 
^vhen  his  peculiar  wit  evoked  laughter,  and  every  now  and  then  there 
was  a  dead  silence,  where  one  might  have  expected  laughter  or  ap- 
plause, showing  that  the  oratorical  shaft  was  barbed  and  had  struck 
home.  Outside  of  the  address  there  was  a  prayer  by  Dr.  Tudor,  the 
singing  of  two  hymns  and  the  announcement  of  the  week's  services. 
There  will  be  services  at  Centenary  Methodist  church  every  morning 
and  afternoon  and  on  Thursday  evening.  On  other  evenings  serv- 
ices will  be  held  at  the  Exposition  Music  Hall.  Now  that  the  work 
is  assuming  shape,  the  local  clergy  are  taking  hearty  interest." 

Mr.  Jones  created  such  a  stir  in  St.  Louis  that  worldliness  was 
being  considerably  checked.  The  social  life  of  the  city  was  being 
broken  into  by  his  preaching.  The  card  parties  and  other  worldly 
amusements  were  suffering  at  his  hands.  The  theaters  were  being 
greatly  reduced  in  their  attendance,  and  all  classes  of  people  were  in 
attendance  upon  the  meetings.  All  forms  of  worldliness  and  wick- 
edness were  being  disturbed.  His  wit,  humor,  sarcasm  and  pathos 
made  it  possible  for  him  to  be  the  sensation  that  he  was.  While  a 
great  many  people  take  exceptions  to  the  use  of  consecrated  wit  in 
the  pulpit,  nevertheless  it  has  proved  its  place  in  the  pulpit  by  its  re- 
sults. Nearly  every  great  preacher  has  made  use  of  it.  Moody  and 
Spurgeon  were  especially  effective  while  employing  it.  All  of  this 
talk  called  forth  a  very  effective  tribute  to  Mr.  Jones  and  his  man- 
ner of  speech.     I  think  it  is  worthy  of  a  place  here : 

"From  time  to  time  preachers  have  appeared  who  seemed  raised 
up  for  the  special  work. of  raising  the  popular  heart  to  an  appre- 
ciation of  the  claims  of  Christ  upon  their  allegiance.  Such  a  preach- 
er was  John  the  Baptist,  the  greatest  of  them  all,  who  spoke  under 


Sam  p.  Jones.  169^ 

the  great  blue  vault  of  Nature's  heavens.  vSome  of  the  popular  ora- 
tors have  used  sarcasm  with  singular  effect,  as,  for  example,  Hugh 
Latimer,  the  great  reformer,  bishop  and  martyr.  For  weeks  Lati- 
mer spoke  in  the  open  air  at  Paul's  Cross  in  London.  He  exposed 
the  non-preaching  prelates,  the  rich  bishops,  who  never  opened  their 
mouths  to  the  people,  but  occupied  themselves  with  the  politics,  the 
intrigues,  the  scandals  of  the  various  European  courts. 

"Latimer,  too,  indoctrinated  the  masses  in  true  piety,  and  to  his 
personal  influence  it  is  due  mainly  that  England  embraced  the  re- 
formed religion.  But  Latimer  was  a  prince  of  jokers,  as  well  as  the 
prince  of  preachers.  His  sermons  of  the  'Plough'  abound  with 
jokes,  local  hits,  sarcasm  and  'points,'  some  of  which  have  not  lost 
their  flavor  to  this  day. 

"A  pulpit  use  of  wit  is  no  new  thing,  and  Is  a  powerful  vehicle  for 
good.  Sam  Jones  is  as  keen  as  a  razor,  as  sarcastic  as  a  Latimer 
himself.  He  uses  the  language,  employs  the  ideas  and  exposes  the 
follies  and  vices  of  the  great  mass  of  humanity,  of  which  each  of  us 
are  liable  to  esteem  ourselves  a  most  important  part. 

"Sam  Jones  is  loyal  to  the  truth — the  sad  truth  of  man's  fallen 
condition  by  sin  and  the  glorious  counter-truth  of  Christ's  redeem- 
ing power  upon  the  heart.  Brother  Jones  is.  fully  in  earnest,  proba- 
bly has  not  seen  an  idle  hour  since  he  was  converted,  and  conse- 
quently he  has  done,  and  is  doing,  a  great  work  for  good.  His  hu- 
mor is  exquisite,  his  irony  as  keen  as  a  thorn.  Taken  altogether,  his- 
seriousness,  his  fun,  his  pure,  simple  Bible  religion,  his  evident  sym- 
pathy Vv^ith  souls,  constitutes  Sam  Jones  a  power  for  good — unique, 
peculiar,  versatile,  effective. 

"No  such  extended  interest  in  any  one  man  has  recently  been  ex- 
cited in  our  midst,  and  the  interest  seems  to  be  everywhere  the  same. 
Great  crowds  have  heard  this  newest  apostle,  and  we  have  great 
reason  to  hope  that  our  community  will  be  permanently  benefited  by 
his  ministrations." 

One  of  the  best  estimates  of  Mr.  Jones  and  his  work  in  St.  Louis 
was  written  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Godby  in  the  Southern  MetJiodist: 

"No  evangelist  that  has  ever  visited  this  city  has  been  heard  by 
such  large  congregations,  and  no  one  has  more  impressed  his  hearers 


170  Sam  P.  Jon^s. 

with  his  manhness,  courage  and  broad  and  correct  views  of  Chris- 
tianity and  Christian  duty. 

"His  preaching  is  unique  in  style,  but  as  natural  as  childhood. 
His  wit  is  spontaneous  and  sparkles  out  everywhere.  He  has  won- 
derful aptness  in  illustration.  His  expositions  of  doctrine  show 
him  thoroughly  sound  in  theology, 

"No  evangelist  has  relied  so  much  upon  the  simple  word  of  truth. 
No  studied  manipulation  of  audiences,  no  effort  to  attract  by  music, 
no  attempt  in  any  sort  of  sensation  has  characterized  his  work. 

"Jones  is  a  genius,  entitled  to  his  own  way  of  preaching.  Any 
attempt  to  imitate  him  would  be  a  miserable  failure,  and  no  man 
would  be  farther  from  the  real  spirit  and  character  of  Sam  Jones 
than  a  man  who  would  undertake  it.  His  style  is  not  studied,  he 
follows  no  pattern.  Nature  has  given  him  rare  endowment,  and 
■such  as  he  is  he  has  offered  himself  to  the  Master's  service." 

Criticism  subsided  as  his  work  went  on.  Expressions  which 
grated  harshly  on  the  ears  of  every  one  when  he  began  to  preach, 
and  which  none  approved,  ceased  to  be  spoken  of  by  those  who  heard 
him  from  day  to  day,  because  they  were  ashamed  to  raise  objections 
to  a  man  who  had  won  their  hearts  by  so  many  just  claims. 

"Brother  Jones  seems  to  unite  courage  and  fidelity  in  declaring 
the  truth  and  reproving  sins  with  almost  feminine  tenderness; 
.and  with  all  the  admiration  which  the  public  exhibit  for  him,  we  saw 
in  him  only  the  meekness  of  a  Christian." 

The  last  services  of  the  series  was  Sunday  evening.  Soon  after 
five  o'clock  the  people  began  to  assemble,  though  the  service  was  not 
to  begin  until  seven  forty-five.  Long  before  that  time  there  was  no 
room  in  pew  or  aisle  for  another  one.  When  the  sermon  was  con- 
cluded and  the  audience  dismissed,  the  people  stood  reverently  as  if 
the  service  was  going  on.  The  benediction  was  pronounced  a  sec- 
ond time,  but  no  one  seemed  to  be  willing  to  quit  the  church ;  and 
three-quarters  of  an  hour  later  a  large  crowd  was  still  lingering  to 
take  the  hand  of  Mr.  Jones  before  parting.  He  left  us  Monday 
morning,  and  the  prayers  and  blessings  of  thousands  of  Christians 
"vvent  with  him. 

When  the  meeting  finally  closed,  it  was  admitted  on  all  sides  that 


Sam  p.  Jonks.  171 

it  was  one  of  the  greatest  victories  the  church  had  ever  known.  Mr. 
Jones,  perhaps,  saw  the  situation  as  no  one  else  did,  and  was  better 
prepared  to  give  a  correct  estimate  of  the  work  than  any  one  else. 
The  last  night  of  the  meeting  he  made  the  following  remarks  re- 
garding the  work  in  St.  Louis : 

"There  are  one  or  two  things  I  want  to  say  to  you  before  we  pro- 
ceed with  the  text.  There  are  many  things  at  this  hour  to  gladden 
my  heart,  and  I  feel  grateful  to  God  for  the  cooperation  and  prayers 
of  the  hundreds  of  Christian  people,  and  all  of  those  faithful  minis- 
ters who  have  stood  by  my  side ;  I  thank  God  for  the  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  Christian  people  in  this  city,  who  testify  that  they  start 
out  from  these  services  with  renevv^ed  strength  and  vigor,  and  with 
their  religious  life  quickened,  with  their  hopes  brightened,  with  their 
faith  stronger.  I  thank  God  for  all  of  this.  Then  we  are  grateful  to 
God  for  the  hundreds,  I  know  not  how  many  hundreds,  that  have 
given  themselves  to  God  and  a  better  life.  I  have  seen  as  many  as 
fifty  at  a  service  profess  faith  and  love  in  Jesus  Christ.  I  have  seen 
at  other  services  forty,  and  I  have  seen  at  som.e  thirty,  proving  a 
desire  to  do  right.  This  much  I  can  say,  we  are  satisfied  that  hun- 
dreds have  decided  and  made  choice  of  Christ  as  their  personal 
Saviour  and  seeking  heaven  as  their  final  homie. 

"There  are  some  features  of  these  meetings  that  when  we  look  at 
them  we  are  discouraged  and  heartsick.  While  we  glorify  God  that 
hundreds  have  been  quickened  unto  a  new  life,  and  hundreds  have 
been  brought  to  Christ,  yet  it  makes  our  hearts  sad  when  we  see 
thousands  that  are  out  of  Christ,  and  I  never  can  rejoice  with  my 
v^'hole  heart  over  those  that  have  found  Christ  when  I  am  sad  over 
the  thousands  that  are  still  lost.  Oh,  Christ,  go  out  after  the  lost 
sheep  of  this  city  and  seek  them  till  you  have  found  them  all,  and 
lay  them  on  Thy  own  loving  shoulder  and  bring  them  all  back  to 
the  fold. 

"I  leave  here  with  a  sad  heart.  I  go  away  from  many  new-made 
friends ;  I  go  away  with  a  consciousness  that  many  names  and  faces 
are  written  on  my  heart.  You  may  read  them  there  in  heaven,  I 
trust. 

"I  leave  your  city  to  go  to  the  bedside  of  one  of  the  sweetest,  best. 


172  ■     Sam  P.  Jones. 

sisters  a  boy  ever  had,  or  maybe  to  her  funeral,  I  know  not.  I  have 
been  very  saci  all  day,  and  yet  rejoicing.  I  think  this  has  been  the 
sweetest  religious  day  I  almost  ever  spent  in  my  life.  The  Lord  came 
upon  us  at  Centenary,  and  His  blessings  came  like  the  falling  snow, 
and  we  scarcely  knew  that  grace  was  falling  until  we  were  covered 
up  all  over  with  the  snows  of  divine  grace  which  had  fallen.  Let  us 
look  for  such  a  service  to-night.  I  shall  carry  you  away  in  my  heart 
and  in  my  memory,  and  I  shall  pray  for  you,  and  the  greatest  favor 
I  can  ask  of  you  is  to  pray  God  that  I  may  be  a  faithful  preacher,  a 
good  man,  a  gentle,  loving  father  and  husband  in  the  highest  sense 
of  the  word.    God  bless  you  all. 

"Then  I  want  to  say  the  newspapers  of  this  city  have  been  a  great 
help  to  me  in  my  work.  They  have  done  more  through  their  press- 
rooms than  I  have  done  from  the  pulpit.  I  have  had  hundreds  of 
hearers;  they  have  had  thousands  of  readers;  I  am  grateful  to 
them ;  and  I  say  to  you  that  whenever  in  the  history  of  any  town  or 
community  Christ  shall  have  unto  Himself  four  or  five  columns  in 
your  leading  newspapers  each  day  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  make 
an  impression  upon  this  world. 

"The  Globe-Democrat  (and  I  make  no  invidious  distinction  of  the 
Globe-Democrat)  especially,  has  given  stenographic  reports  of  the 
sermons ;  the  Republican  has  given  column  after  column,  large  space 
to  long-hand  reports  of  the  sermons,  and  to  these  two  papers  I  owe 
a  great  deal.  I  commend  the  enterprise  of  the  Globe-Democrat  and 
the  fidelity  of  the  Republican  to  those  interested  in  this  meeting. 
May  God  bless  the  editors,  may  God  bless  the  reporters — I  know  I 
mean  that — may  God  bless  the  printers  and  may  God  bless  every 
man  who  takes  those  papers  in  his  hands.  I  thank  you  all  for  your 
kind  words  and  your  prayers,  and  your  many  tokens  of  good  will 
and  appreciation  of  me  and  my  work ;  I  thank  you  with  all  the  heart 
I  have,  and  if  I  was  a  bigger-hearted  man  you  would  get  bigger 
thanks.    God  bless  you  all  and  save  you  all." 

Ten  years  afterwards  Mr.  Jones  returned  to  St.  Louis  for  a  re- 
vival campaign.  He  had  been  invited  there  often,  but  had  never 
been  able  to  hold  another  meeting.  Finally  the  question  of  his  com- 
ing was  introduced  by  some  business  men  at  one  of  the  preachers' 


Sam  p.  Jones.  173 

meetings,  and  there  was  some  opposition  manifested  toward  him. 
Mr.  Jones  was  immediately  informed  of  this,  and  after  much  prayer 
decided  that  he  should  go  and  hold  this  second  meeting,  hoping  for 
as  much  cooperation  as  possible  from  the  laity  and  the  ministers. 
While  there  were  a  great  many  .prominent  laymen  and  some  of  the 
leading  preachers  anxious  for  him  to  come,  under  the  circumstances 
Mr.  Jones  decided  to  assume  all  the  financial  obligations,  and  there- 
fore rented  the  Music  Hall  for  three  weeks,  which  amounted  to 
twenty-one  hundred  dollars.  Perhaps  the  greatest  opposition  Mr. 
Jones  ever  met  with  was  upon  his  second  visit  to  St.  Louis.  There 
were  some  prominent  Methodist  preachers  in  the  city  who  were  un- 
willing to  cooperate  with  him,  and  fought  his  coming.  In  the 
preachers'  meeting  and  before  their  official  boards  they  did  every- 
thing in  their  power  to  break  up  the  plans  for  the  meeting.  This 
was  one  reason  why  Mr.  Jones  was  so  anxious  to  respond  to  the  call 
of  some  Christian  laymen  and  a  few  ministers,  and  led  him  to  shoul- 
der the  responsibility  that  he  assumed. 

After  the  meeting  began  some  of  the  preachers  went  among  the 
people  and  urged  them  not  to  attend,  while  others  fought  him  from 
the  pulpit,  but  this  made  absolutely  no  impression  upon  Mr.  Jones, 
and  didn't  seem  to  interfere  at  all  with  the  great  work  which  had 
been  inaugurated.  The  Music  Hall  would  not  begin  to  hold  the 
people,  and  soon  the  opposition  died  away. 

One  night  before  the  great  audience  Mr.  Jones  said :  "If  these  D. 
D.'s  don't  let  up,  I  will  have  to  quit."  [Laughter.]  "Look  here,  they 
have  just  got  the  folks  away  from  here  until  there  ain't  but  six  thou- 
sand here  to-night.  I  ain't  mad  at  them,  I  like  them ;  I  want  to  meet 
them  all  in  heaven,  but  I  don't  care  about  meeting  them  until  I 
have  been  there  about  a  week."  This  was  his  good-natured  way  of 
showing  the  people  that  the  opposition  had  been  overcome.  The 
revival  swept  on,  gathering  momentum,  until  one  of  the  greatest 
victories  for  the  cause  of  Christ  was  realized.  The  meeting  was  soon 
warmly  endorsed  by  the  most  prominent  Christian  workers  in  the 
city,  and  a  majority  of  the  leading  clergymen.  Some 'of  the  greatest 
and  most  powerful  sermons  Mr.  Jones  ever  preached  were  created 
and  delivered  during  the  St.  Louis  campaign.     When  the  financial 


174  Sam  P.  Jones. 

responsibility  had  been  met  by  generous  gifts  of  the  friends  of  the- 
movement,  and  when  the  debt  was  paid,  the  committee  presented  Mr. 
Jones  with  a  very  handsome  purse  as  a  token  of  their  appreciation 
of  the  work  that  he  had  done. 

Just  before  leaving  the  city  Col.  Bob  Ingersoll  came  there  for  a 
lecture.  While  the  great  Music  Hall  could  not  accommodate  the 
crowd  that  came  to  hear  Mr.  Jones,  Colonel  Ingersoll  had  a  rather 
small  audience  at  the  theater.  The  Glohe-Democrat  had  an  interview 
with  Mr.  Jones  regarding  Ingersoll.  "What  do  you  think  of  Inger- 
soll ?"  asked  the  representative  of  the  great  paper.  Mr.  Jones  replied  : 
"I  can't  answer  you  in  two  or  three  words ;  personally,  Mr.  Ingersoll 
is  no  doubt  a  genial  gentleman ;  physically,  he  is  fat ;  intellectually,  he 
is  bright,  and  morally  there  may  be  worse  men;  theologically,  he  is 
a  bad  tgg."  "What  do  you  think  of  the  moral  influence  of  his  lec- 
tures?" asked  the  reporter.  "That  is  very  easily  answered.  His 
lectures  are  a  calamity,  and  the  worst  is,  he  reaches  the  class  of  peo- 
ple upon  whom  they  have  the  most  baneful  effect.  Mr.  Ingersoll 
forgets  that  the  masses  were  not  all  reared  in  Christian  homes,  as  he 
was,  and  with  their  training  his  sayings  turns  them  over  to  utter 
recklessness.  Whatever  virtues  Mr.  Ingersoll  possesses  is  the  gift 
of  Christianity.  He  never  got  them  from  infidelity."  "How  do  you 
account  for  his  power  to  attract  large  audiences?"  Mr.  Jones  said : 
"His  power  to  attract  lies  in  his  ability  to  shock.  He  is  the  devil's 
dynamo,  and  when  a  man  stands  upon  the  damp  soil  of  a  sinful  life, 
old.  Bob  can  turn  a  current  on  him  that  will  make  him  almost  leap 
out  of  himself."  The  reporter  asked,  "What  about  Mr.  Ingersoll's 
arguments  ?"  Mr.  Jones  replied :  "He  is  an  orator  of  the  highest 
type.  I  know  no  man  who  can  put  English  together  like  he  can. 
His  words  put  into  sentences  look  like  strings  of  pearls,  but  they 
are  merely  bracelets  and  necklaces  for  swine.  He  hasn't  any  argu- 
ments whatever.  His  philosophy  and  religion  do  not  build  colleges, 
almshouses  or  asylums.  They  are  powerless  to  reform  the  drunk- 
ard and  the  outlaw.  They  do  not  make  a  man  kinder  in  his  home, 
or  more  respected  in  the  community  where  he  lives.  With  his  wit 
and  intellectual  cunning,  aided  by  his  illogical  reasoning,  he  may 
play  on  the  weaknesses  of  religion,  and,  by  his  flights  of  eloquence,. 


Sam  p.  Joni;s.  175 

tipon  the  duties  of  life,  which  he  steals  from  Christianity,  but,  after 
all,  a  thoughtful  man  sees  the  cunning  of  his  method  and  detects  the 
direful  effect  his  words  have  upon  those  who  hear  him.  I  see  no  good 
that  can  possibly  come  from  his  lectures  on  infidelity.  I  see  ftiuch 
harm  that  may  result  from  them."  "What  do  you  think  as  to  his  sin- 
cerity?" inquired  the  reporter.  Mr.  Jones  said:  "As  to  whether  Mr. 
Ingersoll  is  sincere  or  not  makes  no  difference  when  you  look  at  the 
tendency  of  his  lectures.  I  believe  a  man  can  reach  such  condition 
and  attitude  that  in  the  moral  world  a  lie  is  to  him  the  truth,  and  the 
truth  a  lie.  I  suppose  he  will  die  as  he  has  lived,  but  after  death  he 
will  no  longer  be  a  disbeliever  or  an  unbeliever.  When  he  is  gone 
the  ministry  will  live;  churches  will  flourish;  morality  will  be 
taught  and  practiced,  and  Christian  virtues -will  be  embodied  in  men 
long  after  he  has  passed  from  the  earth." 

When  the  last  night  of  the  meeting  came  it  was  attended  by  the 
'largest  audience  that  ever  assembled  to  hear  a  minister  in  St.  Louis. 
After  every  available  seat  was  occupied  in  the  great  Music  Hall, 
there  were  as  many,  if  not  more,  on  the  outside  of  the  building  try- 
ing to  gain  admittance.  It  was  with  much  difficulty  that  the  police- 
men opened  the  way  for  Mr.  Jones  to  pass  through  the  crowd  to  the 
main  entrance  of  the  building.  A  great  crowd  thronged  on  the  out- 
side, clamoring  for  a  few  words  from  him.  Mr.  Jones  took  a  posi- 
tion on  the  step  and  addressed  them  for  ten  minutes  or  more.  AA'hen 
he  finished  the  crowd  seemed  to  appreciate  the  words  that  he  had 
uttered,  and  as  there  was  no  chance  or  possibility  for  them  to  get 
within  the  building  they  quietly  and  gradually  dispersed. 

In  all,  the  work  was  one  of  the  most  marvelous  victories ;  the 
strongest  oppositions  had  been  overcome  and  he  had  succeeded  in 
■spite  of  those  who  opposed  him. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


The  Cincinnati  Revival. 

After  the  conquest  of  Mr.  Jones  in  St.  Louis  in  November  of  last 
year  he  spent  the  holidays  at  home  with  his  family,  and  on  January 
7,  1886,  he  went  to  Cincinnati  and  opened  a  campaign  against  the 
sins  and  vices  of  the  Queen  City. 

During  the  six  months  that  had  passed  since  Mr.  Jones's  great 
meeting  in  Nashville  there  had  been  more  in  the  secular  press  re- 
garding him  and  his  peculiar  methods  than  any  other  pulpit  orator 
in  the  land. 

The  remarkable  results  of  the  Nashville  meeting  had  been  herald- 
ed abroad,  and  the  great  dailies  of  St.  Louis  had  brought  him  more 
prominently  before  the  people  during  the  wonderful  meeting  in  that 
city.  This  had  prepared  the  way  for  the  greater  dailies  of  Cincin- 
nati to  discuss  him  freely,  and  bring  him  into  still  greater  promi- 
nence. This  in  a  marked  degree  called  the  attention  of  the  Cincin- 
nati people  to  his  peculiar  preaching.  His  fame  had  gone  before- 
him,  and  the  people  had  become  interested  in  his  great  ministry. 

Perhaps  Cincinnati  was  the  most  obstinate  and  wicked  place  to 
which  Mr.  Jones  had  been  called  to  labor.  The  city  has  been  noted 
for  its  indifference  to  religion,  and  its  open  wickedness,  although 
there  were  thousands  of  most  earnest  Christians  in  the  city.  What 
Paul  said  of  Athens  might  be  applied  to  Cincinnati,  "The  city  wholly 
given  to  idolatry." 

There  was  one  minister.  Dr.  L  W.  Joyce,  pastor  of  the  St.  Paul 
Methodist  church  (he  was  afterwards  made  bishop),  who  must  have 
had  the  apostle's  experience  when  "his  spirit  was  stirred  within  him 
when  he  saw  the  city  wholly  given  to  idolatry."  Dr.  Joyce  had  en- 
deavored to  get  the  Protestant  Ministers'  Alliance  to  bring  Mr. 
Jones  to  Cincinnati,  and  having  failed,  he  took  upon  himself  the  re- 

(176) 


Sam  p.  Jones.  177 

sponsibility  of  inviting  him  to  the  St.  Paul  Methodist  church.  This 
invitation  came  through  the  official  board,  at  the  suggestion  of  Dr. 
Joyce. 

To  have  anything  like  a  sweeping  revival,  one  that  would  move 
the  city  to  its  very  depths,  the  outlook  was  absolutely  hopeless  from 
a  human  viewpoint.  The  church  in  which  the  meeting  started  was 
centrally  located,  but  with  a  small  seating  capacity,  perhaps  not  ac- 
commodating more  than  eight  hundred  or  a  thousand.  This  would 
not  impress  one  as  the  place  where  a  current  could  be  started  that 
would  sweep  over  the  great  city. 

To  evangelize  a  great  city  like  Cincinnati  it  would  seem  necessary 
to  have  most  perfect  organization  with  the  most  exhaustive  prepara- 
tions. In  previous  meetings  other  evangelists  had  the  benefits  of 
such  organization,  and  the  assistance  of  a  corps  of  able  workers,  as 
preachers  and  singers,  with  the  hearty  endorsement  and  cooperation 
of  the  evangelical  ministers  and  Christian  laity ;  but  Mr.  Jones  had 
none  of  this.  When  we  see  the  great  w^ork  that  he  accomplished 
without  the  aid  of  perfected  plans,  and  much  machinery,  it  will  give 
us  a  deeper  insight  into  his  real  ability,  and  allow  more  credit  for  the 
operation  of  the  divine  Spirit. 

Cincinnati  was  never  an  inviting  field  for  evangelists.     Nearly       \ 
every  prominent  one  who  labored  there  realized  that  it  was  a  most         \ 
difficult  city  to  move.    The  great  Moody  said,  "It  is  the  graveyard  ^ 

for  evangelists."  The  municipal  life  had  been  notably  corrupt,  the 
social  life  always  shallow  and  empty.  The  religious  life  had  been 
weak  and  powerless.  Under  such  conditions  it  was  hard  for  the 
evangelists  to  succeed.  If  the  combined  forces  of  the  ministry,  with 
the  most  perfect  scheme  for  evangelization,  have  staggered  and 
failed  in  the  presence  of  the  foes  and  strongholds  of  the  enemy,  how 
difficult  it  would  seem  for  them  to  be  conquered  through  the  personal 
influence  and  ministry  of  Mr.  Jones.  However,  when  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  at  work  and  God's  servants  are  under  his  leadership,  insur- 
mountable difficulties  disappear. 

Mr.  Jones  preached  his  first  sermon  in  St.  Paul's  church  to  an  au- 
dience that  did  not  tax  the  seating  capacity  of  the  building.  For  a 
week  or  ten  days  the  attendance  was  large,  but  great  crowds  did  not 

7j 


178  Sam  P.  Jonhs. 

attend.  Those  who  heard  him  went  away  and  spread  the  news,  and 
the  audiences  finally  became  so  large  that  the  church  proved  too 
small  to  accommodate  the  people.  While  the  papers  had  taken  con- 
siderable notice  of  him  and  his  work,  it  was  not  until  he  had  great 
crowds  that  they  published  full  accounts  of  the  meetings.  The 
religious  fire  had  broken  out  in  the  church  and  reached  in  every  di- 
rection, until  it  seemed  that  the  whole  city  was  aglow  with  religious 
fervor.  Dr.  Joyce,  seeing  the  turn  that  the  meeting  had  taken,  de- 
cided that  Mr.  Jones  should  have  a  larger  building  in  which  to 
preach.  Again,  he  sought  the  cooperation  and  help  of  the  Ministers' 
Alliance  and  the  laity  of  other  churches,  but  received  very  little  en- 
couragement from  them.  However,  he  was  determined  that  Mr. 
Jones  should  have  a  place  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  people 
who  were  anxious  to  hear  him.  Finally,  with  the  endorsement  of 
his  official  board,  he  contracted  for  the  Irage  Music  Hall,  which 
would  accommodate  from  eight  to  ten  thousand  people,  and  his 
church  became  responsible  for  the  rent,  and  lifted  all  anxiety  from 
the  heart  of  the  evangelist,  and  turned  him  loose  in  the  magnificent 
auditorium,  that  he  might  preach  to  the  thousands. 

From  a  worldly  point  of  view,  this  was  nothing  less  than  a  piece 
of  daring.  The  announcement  of  the  transfer  of  the  meetings  from 
the  church  to  the  Music  Hall  created  much  interest  and  comment. 
The  editors  of  the  great  daily  papers  began  to  take  deeper  interest  in 
the  movement.  The  revival  had  taken  on  such  wonderful  power  that 
it  defied  opposition.  The  great  papers  sent  their  reporters  to  the 
Music  Hall  to  report  the  wonderful  work  that  had  been  inaugurated. 
The  city  was  in  a  great  commotion,  and  when  the  hour  for  the  first 
service  in  the  new  building  arrived  it  would  be  seen  whether  the 
change  was  justified. 

The  Music  Hall  had  been  put  in  readiness  for  the  meeting.  There 
was  a  large  platform  projecting  from  the  front  of  the  stage,  covered 
with  green  baize,  and  in  the  center  of  this  improvised  platform  was  a 
table  for  the  Bible.  When  the  doors  were  opened  the  people  rushed 
in  until  they  tested  the  seating  capacity  of  the  great  hall.  Both  sides 
of  the  balcony  were  occupied,  and  every  seat  of  the  auditorium  was 
filled,  while  a  line  of  young  men  stood  all  along  the  sides  of  the  hall. 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  179 

The  platform  was  occupied  by  a  large  number  of  ministers  of  the 
city.  Mr.  M.  J.  Maxwell,  who  had  recently  formed  partnership  with 
Mr.  Jones  as  a  chorister,  had  organized  a  very  large  and  enthusiastic 
choir.  The  music  on  this  first  occasion  was  spirited.  The  great 
choir  under  direction  of  the  leader  rendered  many  helpful  songs,  and 
Mr,  Maxwell  urged  that  the  audience  assist  in  the  singing.  It 
wasn't  long  until  a  great  volume  of  song  filled  the  immense  building. 
About  the  close  of  the  song  service  Mr.  Jones  entered  the  building 
and  seated  himself  near  the  front  of  the  platform. 

The  following  morning  the  Cincinnati  Enquirer  said :  *Xast 
night's  sermon  was  the  best  that  Mr.  Jones  has  yet  delivered.  It 
was  sparkling  with  wit  and  brimful  of  hard  sense,  and  some  of  the 
remarks  on  the  state  of  things  existing  in  other  cities  were  remarka- 
bly applicable  to  local  affairs.  The  politicians  were  touched  up  in 
a  lively  manner  that  showed  a  keen  insight  into  local  politics.  The 
clubs  of  the  city  were  scorched  in  an  unusual  way,  and  Mr.  Jones 
mentioned  several  of  the  leading  clubs  by  name.  Mr.  Jones  did  not 
fail  to  arraign  the  liquor  traffic  during  the  course  of  his  remarks. 
He  had  the  following  to  say  about  the  saloons,  and  closed  with  a 
touching  illustration  of  how  whiskey  had  ruined  a  Georgia  boy : 

"You  reckon  the  saloon  men  in  this  city,  if  they  had  any  con- 
science or  believed  in  God,  would  want  to  pour  liquid  damnation 
down  the  throats  of  our  men  and  boys  and  damn  them  and  ruin  so- 
ciety, and  ruin  the  Sabbath  day  ?  No,  sir.  They  deny  that  there  is  a 
God,  and  practically  they  have  no  conscience.  What  we  want  in 
this  country,  if  we  have  any  conscience,  is  to  quit  stabbing  it.  That's 
what  we  want.  The  man  that  will  sell  liquor  is  about  eleven-tenths 
hog,  anyway — that's  the  truth  about  it.  All  that's  physical  about 
him  has  turned  to  hog,  and  the  intellect  of  the  fellow  has  turned  into 
a  hog;  that  makes  another  tenth,  and  now  he  is  a  solid  hunk — 
eleven-tenths  hog.  [Laughter.!  And  there  are  men  in  this  city  who 
are  given  over  to  drink,  who  have  tampered  with  liquor  until  they 
have  gotten  to  the  place  where  they  can  not  break  away  from  the 
habit.  They  are  going  down  grade  at  a  fearful  rate,  and  in  spite  of 
everything  will  be  damned. 

"Poor  Bob  Herrick,  of  my  State,  drank  on  and  on  until  he  was 


180  Sam  P.  Jones. 

seized  with  the  third  attack  of  dehrium  tremens.  At  times  he  was 
trying  to  beat  his  arms  off  against  the  bed,  and  he  had  ahnost  bitten 
his  tongue  out  of  his  mouth,  when  in  a  hicid  moment  he  said  :  'Doc- 
tor, is  there  any  chance  for  me  to  hve?'  And  the  doctor  said,  'No, 
Bob,  no,  if  you  drink  you  wiH  die,  and  if  you  do  not  drink  you  wn'H 
die' — and  two  more  hours  passed ;  his  wife  and  children  were  hang- 
ing around  his  neck,  as  he  foundered  on  the  rocks  of  damnation  and 
went  out  forever.  Oh,  friends,  if  there  is  a  brake  in  your  hands, 
put  it  on  to-night.  If  you  can  say,  'I  will  stop,  I  will  stop,'  say  it 
now.  Do  not  roll  another  foot — do  not  roll  another  round  of  the 
wheels — just  look  the  situation  over  and  say,  'I  have  drank  my  last 
drop.    I  have  sworn  my  last  oath.'  " 

There  were  fears  on  the  part  of  some  that  Mr.  Jones  would  be 
unable  to  make  every  one  hear  him  in  the  great  building.  However, 
these  fears  were  removed  when  he  arose  to  speak.  His  voice  was 
in  good  shape,  and  its  peculiar  resonance  made  it  easy  for  the  large 
assembly  to  hear  even  his  faintest  words.  The  service  produced  a 
profound  impression,  and  the  great  audience  went  away  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  message  of  truth.  All  the  fears  and  apprehensions 
were  swept  away  at  the  first  service,  and  the  people  saw  that  the 
great  faith  of  Dr.  Joyce  had  triumphed,  and  they  were  enthusiastic 
over  the  wonderful  proportions  that  the  meeting  had  taken  on. 

From  day  to  day  the  audiences  increased  both  in  the  afternoon 
and  in  the  evening.  At  the  first  afternoon  service  there  was  an  audi- 
ence of  thirty-five  hundred  people ;  afterwards  the  immense  hall  was 
filled  at  many  of  the  day  services.  The  Music  Hall  was  always  over- 
flowing at  night.  The  interest  deepened  in  every  way,  and  the  city 
was  soon  under  the  control  of  the  mighty  Spirit  of  Grace. 

There  was  a  considerable  change  in  the  weather,  and  the  cold,  wet, 
disagreeable  day  made  it  difficult  for  people  to  leave  their  homes.  In 
the  evening  the  city  was  swept  by  a  fearful  storm.  Some  thought 
that  this  would  interfere  with  the  attendance  at  the  meeting;  how- 
ever, the  first  floor  of  the  auditorium,  including  the  stage,  balcony 
and  gallery  were  densely  crowded,  and  hundreds  who  entered  the 
hall  after  the  seats  were  occupied  were  compelled  to  stand  during 
the  service.    A  large  number  of  people  who  had  braved  the  discom- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  1<S1 

forts  of  the  evening  were  turned  away,  being  unable  to  get  even 
standing-room. 

When  Mr.  Jones  came  upon  the  platform,  the  remarkable  attend- 
ance was  an  inspiration  to  him,  and  he  was  in  one  of  his  best  moods, 
as  was  seen  from  his  sermon,  which  was  replete  with  flashes  of  wit 
and  brilliant  references  to  the  meeting,  which  evoked  the  most  en- 
thusiastic applause  from  the  audience. 

In  his  mail  that  day  he  had  received  letters  that  he  read  to  the 
congregation.    Facing  the  immense  throng  he  said  : 

"Brethren,  I  received  (holding  a  piece  of  paper  in  his  hand)  this 
in  the  contribution  basket  last  night,  and  when  this  much  comes  to 
me  it  seems  like  there  can't  be  anything  better  than  this  to  follow. 
This  little  scrap  of  paper  pays  me  for  every  lick  I  have  struck  in 
your  city :  'Brother  Jones,  I  am  in  your  debt  as  follows  for  quitting 
and  swearing  off  from  drinking  one  hundred  dollars;  for  quitting 
and  swearing  off  from  swearing  one  hundred  dollars ;  for  quitting 
all  my  meanness  one  milion  dollars ;  for  learning  to  love  our  dear 
Lord  better  than  life,  three  billion  dollars.  Credit  one  dollar.  I 
hope  to  be  able  to  pay  the  balance  by  doing  good  the  remainder  of 
my  days.' 

"Brethren,  what  is  really  the  pay  in  this  service  ?  Thank  God  for 
the  privilege  of  doing  good.  Dr.  Joyce  [turning  to  the  minister], 
that's  one  reason  why  I  never  ask  you  for  a  cent  of  money,  and  I 
told  you  I  didn't  want  a  cent,  for  I  knew  God  would  pay  me,  and 
here  is  the  pay.  If  this  man  feels  that  way,  how  do  you  reckon  his 
precious  wife  and  children  feel  about  it?  Glory  to  God  for  bringing 
heaven  to  one  home  in  Cincinnati.  Thank  God  for  every  home  that 
has  been  blessed.  I  thought  once  to-day  I  would  have  all  the  com- 
munications I  got  in  the  basket  last  liight  compiled  into  a  little  pam- 
phlet for  its  rich  reading.  One  dear  woman  writes  :  'I  haven't  a  cent 
in  the  world  to  give,  but  I  want  to  tell  you  that  you  have  brought  me 
to  the  dear  Saviour  and  He  is  mine,  and  I  am  happy  in  his  love.'  I 
tell  you  we  will  be  paid  in  heaven  when  money  and  dollars  and  cents 
have  long  ago  been  forgoten.  Thank  God  for  pay  that  I  can  cross 
the  river  with.  I  don't  mean  the  Ohio  river,  but  the  river  of  Death 
to  the  City  of  God." 


182  Sam  P.  Jonks. 

Comments  upon  the  incidents  showed  his  real  character  regarding 
the  finances  connected  with  the  meeting.  While,  as  a  rule,  he  was 
paid  handsomely  for  his  services,  he  never  allowed  monetary  consid- 
erations to  influence  him  one  whit  in  his  meetings.  How  this  re- 
minds us  of  his  attitude  towards  the  financial  committee  in  the  city 
of  Cincinnati  twenty  years  afterwards  while  holding  his  last  meeting 
there.  He  shouldered  the  responsibility  that  the  financial  committee 
had  assumed,  and  bravely  fought  their  battles,  raising  the  entire 
amount  necessary  for  the  expenses  of  the  meeting,  losing  sight  of  his 
own  remuneration,  and  when  the  last  service  was  conducted  and  the 
expenses  met,  there  was  scarcely  anything  said  about  his  own  com- 
pensation. He  accepted  gratefully  what  the  committee  gave  him. 
It  was  doubled  six  months  afterward.  Had  he  failed  to  receive  a 
cent  for  his  work  in  the  first  or  last  meeting,  he  would  have  left  the 
city  with  as  much  faith  in  God  and  love  for  humanity  as  if  they  had 
poured  thousands  of  dollars  into  his  hands.  While  aiding  the  finan- 
cial committee  in  raising  the  money  for  the  expenses  of  his  last  meet- 
ing, he  was  so  often  reminded  of  how  Bishop  Joyce  relieved  him  of 
such  anxiety  in  the  first  great  work.  He  was  fond  of  saying  that 
just  one  man  is  needed  in  every  great  city  back  of  every  good  and 
worthy  cause.  He  said  so  many  times  with  great  admiration  and 
reverence,  "Oh,  how  I  miss  dear  old  Bishop  Joyce,  who  has  just 
slipped  off  a  little  ahead  of  me  to  his  home  above.  How  I  remember 
his  untiring  efforts  as  a  leader  of  God's  people  in  this  city  twenty 
years  ago." 

The  papers  next  morning  spoke  of  how  the  meeting  was  reaching 
all  classes  of  people,  and  as  they  were  on  the  ground,  they  could 
speak  intelligently : 

"The  great  religious  revival  conducted  by  Sam  Jones  has  been 
spreading  like  wildfire  day  by  day  until  now  little  else  is  thought  of 
or  spoken  of  in  the  city.  In  the  hotel  lobbies,  offices,  stores,  club- 
houses and  police  circles  the  subject  of  religion  and  the  man  who  is 
now  so  forcibly  proclaiming  it  in  this  community  are  the  general 
topics  of  conversation.  And  the  subject  of  purity  versus  impurity, 
and  godliness  versus  ungodliness,  have  even  penetrated  those  places 
where,  before,  such  thoughts  were  never  dreamed  of. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  183 

"Yesterday  Mr.  Jones  preached  two  sermons  in  Music  Hall.  The 
one  he  delivered  in  the  afternoon  was  his  first  to  men  only.  It  was 
attended  by  at  least  six  thousand  men,  and  he  held  them  in  sympathy 
and  interest  from  the  beginning  until  the  close  of  the  sermon.  At 
night  he  addressed  a  mixed  audience,  which  numbereii  not  less  than 
nine  thousand  persons.  The  doors  were  closed  shortly  after  seven 
o'clock,  though  the  services  did  not  commence  until  seven-thirty,  and 
at  least  five  thousand  disappointed  people  were  turned  away  for  want 
of  room  to  place  them  in  the  hall.  Expressions  of  'Wonderful! 
Wonderful !'  are  heard  on  all  sides.  The  moral  good  done  to  this 
community  and  section  by  the  revival  is  wonderful  to  contemplate. 
This  evangelist  can  already  number  his  friends  here  by  the  thou- 
sands. He  has  made  impressions  on  the  hearts  of  the  people  that 
will  not  be  obliterated." 

It  was  evident  that  a  vast  amount  of  real  and  lasting  good  of  a 
known  quantity  was  being  accomplished  by  these  meetings,  and  per- 
haps the  unknown  quantity  of  good  was  much  greater.  One  of.  the 
tangible  results  at  that  stage  was  the  quietude  of  the  Sabbath.  The 
city  was  noted  for  its  open  and  flagrant  sins  on  the  Lord's  day,  as 
could  be  seen  from  the  police  annals  in  the  Monday  courts.  The 
most  striking  illustration  of  the  power  of  the  movement,  and  a 
proof  of  the  intense  and  general  interest  felt  was  that  there  were' 
absolutely  no  arrests  for  any  offense  recorded  up  to  six  o'clock.  This 
was  unknown  in  the  city  before,  and  was  solely  and  correctly  attrib- 
uted to  the  influence  that  Mr.  Jones  was  exerting  upon  the  city.  An- 
other was  the  fact  that  Mr.  Jones's  sermons  were  being  reported  ver- 
batim in  the  Enquirer  and  other  papers,  and  that  the  preachers  were 
discussing  hinfi  and  the  secret  of  his  power  in  their  Sunday  services. 
These  great  papers  had  called  not  only  the  attention  of  the  ministers 
of  the  city  but  of  the  surrounding  country  to  his  work,  and  in  other 
cities  the  ministers  were  reading  and  commenting  favorably  upon 
his  sermons  at  their  regular  Sunday  morning  services.  Special  to 
the  Coimnercial-Gazette,  of  Springfield,  Ohio,  says :  "The  interest 
in  the  great  revival  now  being  held  in  Cincinnati  by  the  Rev.  Sam 
Jones  is  far  from  being  confined  to  Cincinnati. 

"There  is  almost  as  much  interest  in  the  sermons  in  this  city  as  in 


184  '  Sam  P.  Jones. 

that.  Dr.  Tuckley,  a  former  Cincinnati  pastor,  and  at  present  pastor 
of  St.  Paul's  M.  E.  church,  this  city,  has  had  several  'Sam  Jones' 
nights  at  St.  Paul's,  in  the  course  of  which  he  delivered  a  sermon, 
giving  many  of  the  bright  and  pithy  sayings  of  Sam  Jones.  Several 
Springfield  pastors  have  lectured  on  Sam  Jones  and  his  methods. 
The  C onimercial-Gazette ,  containing  the  sermons,  is  eagerly  awaited 
by  many  persons,  and  not  a  few  have  saved  the  papers  containing 
the  sermons  entire  since  the  first. 

"The  general  opinion  here  is  that  the  sermons  are  steadily  improv- 
ing as  Sam  Jones  goes  on.  An  effort  will  be  made  to  have  Mr. 
Jones  come  to  this  city  for  a  series  of  meetings.  Revivals  are  in 
progress  here  in  the  Central,  St.  Paul  and  High  Street  AI.  E. 
churches.    The  number  of  conversions  have  been  very  large." 

Furthermore,  the  sermons  as  printed  in  the.  papers  were  eagerly 
sought  for  and  read  by  people  farther  away.  Usually  sermons  re- 
produced in  newspapers  are  not  much  read,  hence  they  are  not  often 
printed,  but  those  of  J\Ir.  Jones  were  of  such  interest  that  much 
space  was  given  to  them.  At  the  capital  of  the  nation,  the  most 
prominent  men  were  buying  the  papers,  that  they  might  get 
every  word  that  he  was  uttering  in  Cincinnati.  The  people 
never  tired  of  reading  them.  He  knew  that  his  sermons  in 
Nashville  and  St.  Louis  had  been  widely  copied,  and  he  did 
not  repeat  himself  in  Cincinnati.  Wliile  he  would  take  the  same 
text,  he  could  preach  several  sermons  from  it  without  going  over 
the  same  ground.  Those  who  make  a  careful  study  of  his  sermons 
will  see  that  he  never  repeated.  If  he  should  use  the  same  expres- 
sions, they  were  always  as  fresh  and  forceful  as  if  he  had  uttered 
them  for  the  first  time.  This  wonderful  power  made  it  impossible 
for  him  to  repeat. 

A  prominent  bishop  once  said  to  him :  "]\Ir.  Jones,  where  do  you 
get  all  the  marvelous  things  you  say  ?  You  finish  reading  a  morn- 
ing's paper  in  ten  minutes ;  you  take  no  time  for  special  study ;  wher^ 
do  you  gather  up  all  these  wise  and  witty  things  you  say?"  His  re- 
ply was :  ''I  don't  know%  my  brain  secretes  them  like  my  liver  se- 
cretes bile." 

]Mr.  Jones  realized  in  those  days  that  the  whole  country  was  fob 


Sam  p.  Jo  inks.  185 

lowing  him,  and  he  guarded  against  repetition.  Some  of  the  most 
marvelous  productions  of  his  brain  were  during  his  great  meetings 
in  Nashville,  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati  and  Chicago,  which  were  held  in 
close  succession. 

Two  gentlemen  discussing  Mr.  Jones's  methods,  said  one  :  "I  don't 
for  the  life  of  me  know  what  it  is  about  Sam  Jones,  but  his  words 
burn  their  way  into  my  heart,  and  I  always  go  away  from  his  preach- 
nig  feeling  a  better  and  purer  man."  The  other  remarked :  "Nor 
can  I  fathom  the  secret  of  his  influence  over  men,  but  he  certainly 
lias  a  peculiar  influence,  and  carries  a  man  with  him  in  his  absorbing 
illustrations  of  good  and  evil." 

Unquestionably  Mr.  Jones  had  captured  Cincinnati  and  the  sur- 
rounding country,  and  the  ultimate  positive  good  that  was  accom- 
plished can  never  fully  be  known.  Cincinnati  was  yielding  to  the 
power  of  God,  and  dying  hard,  and  sinners  were  being  converted  on 
all  sides.  The  people  stood  in  awe  and  surprise  at  the  sigTial  defeat 
of  the  evil  one,  and  nothing  short  of  the  coming  millennium  would 
surprise  the  enthusiastic  and  astonished  Cincinnatians. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Dwight  L.  Moody  stopped  off  the  train  one 
night  to  hear  Mr.  Jones.  Upon  his  return  to  the  station  he  wrote 
him  in  substance  as  follows : 

"Dear  Brother  Jones  :  God  has  given  you  a  sledgehammei  with 
which  to  shatter  the  formalism  of  the  church,  and  to  batter  down 
the  strongholds  of  Satan.  The  good  Spirit  is  helping  you  mightily 
to  use  it.     God  bless  you. 

"D.  L.  Moody." 

Mr.  Jones  was  in  no  hurry  to  invite  the  unsaved  to  accept  Christ. 
He  had  been  preaching  day  and  nig-ht,  endeavoring  to  get  the  Chris- 
tian people  ready  for  service.  Some  of  the  church  members  had 
been  very  anxious  for  him  to  begin  the  altar  work,  but  he  said  :  "Un- 
til the  church-members  of  this  city  make  restitution  of  their  fraudu- 
lent bankruptcies,  and  confess  their  slanders  and  forgive  one  an- 
other, forsaking  worldliness  and  social  drinking,  gambling  and  card- 
playing,  with  other  sins  that  may  be  in  their  lives,  they  are  not 


186  Sam  P.  Jones. 

ready  to  lead  sinners  to  Christ."  Said  he :  "We  pull  out  the  train 
from  Cincinnati,  and  I  don't  want  the  brakeman  to  yell  out  'Chatta- 
nooga' when  I  haven't  heard  him  say  'Lexington/  which  is  right  on 
the  road.  Let  us  clean  up  ourselves,  and  sinners  will  be  converted." 
When  the  churches  were  finally  aroused  and  got  right  with  God 
he  began  to  have  after-meetings.  There  were  from  fifty  to  a  hun- 
dred who  professed  conversion  each  night,  and  the  number  increased 
until  as  many  as  five  hundred  were  in  the  after-service,  and  as  many 
■as  three  hundred  were  happily  converted  at  a  service.  The  interest 
and  power  of  the  after-work  increased  as  the  services  progressed. 
It  is  out  of  the  question  to  give  a  correct  estimate  of  the  thousands 
that  were  brought  to  Christ  during  the  meeting. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


The  Cincinnati  Revival  (^^^ontinued). 

The  results  of  the  great  revival  led  the  ministers  to  ask 
Mr.  Jones  to  preach  a  special  sermon  to  them.  They  felt  that  a 
man  who  could  wield  such  an  influence  in  such  an  ungodly  city 
had  a  message  which  would  help  them  in  their  ministry.  He  ac- 
cepted the  invitation  to  preach  to  them.  The  announcement  to 
this  effect  called  out  an  attendance  that  crowded  the  hall  of  the 
Methodist  Publishing  House  to  its  utmost  capacity,  and  many  could 
not  get  inside  of  the  doors.  He  spoke  to  them  in  his  humorous, 
sarcastic,  and  sympathetic  way.  His  remarks  were  forcible  and 
expressions  striking,  which  brought  down  the  house  several  times. 
The  sedate  ministers  forgot  themselves,  and  laughed,  cried,  and  ap- 
plauded, until  one  would  be  reminded  of  a  political  demonstration. 
]\Ir.  Jones  spoke  on  "The  Best  Way  to  Secure  Practical  Results." 
In  a,general  way  he  advised  with  them  as  to  what  a  minister  should 
do.  The  drift  of  his  talk,  as  will  be  seeen,  was  towards  a  greater 
aggressiveness  in  the  pulpit.  He  said :  "Here  in  Cincinnati  you 
have  things  in  shape  to  begin  a  vigorous  warfare  on  sin,  and  the 
preacher  who  wants  to  delay  had  better  surrender.  You  have  things 
here  now  so  that  you  can  convert  fifty  thousand  people  in  the  next 
ten  months.  It  is  well  enough  to  preach  Christ  and  Him  crucified, 
Christ's  love  and  Christ's  mercy,  but  you  want  to  stop  that  now  and 
tell  these  wicked  old  sinners  that  they  have  got  to  repent,  that  they 
have  got  to  reform.  They  have  listened  to  your  preaching  Christ, 
Sunday  after  Sunday,  until  they  have  listened  unmoved.  One  time 
when  I  was  raking  some  folks  over  the  coals,  a  good  old  brother 
came  to  me  and  said  : 

"  'Brother  Jones,  you  ought  to  preach  a  little  more  to  us  about 
Christ,  and  not  raise  so  m.uch  noise  about  other  things.' 

(187) 


188  Sam   P.  JoxEs. 

"I  told  the  brethren  that  I  would  not  bring  Christ  down  there- 
among  such  a  lot  of  cutthroats  as  they  were.  You  want  to  talk 
to  these  old  sinners  about  their  sins  and  convince  them  that  they 
are  doing  wrong.  No  man  is  lost  in  a-  gospel  sense,  until  you 
make  him  feel  he  is  lost.  Some  O'f  us  little  preachers  believe  in  that 
good  old  text,  'you  must  be  born  again.'  If  there  is  any  one  sermon 
that  he  preaches  on  every  occasion  it  is  that.  Why,  it's  too  much  for 
most  of  us.  If  I  had  as  much  sense  as  Bishop  Fowler  here,  I  might 
try  it.  Jesus  only  spoke  of  the  subject  once,  and  that  was  at  mid- 
night, when  He  had  but  one  man  to  listen  to  Him.  [Laughter.] 
\Miatever  hurts  the  soul  or  keeps  it  away  from  God — that's  the 
proper  subject  of  a  sermon.  Take  the  preachers  of  this  town.  They 
talk  to  their  congregation  about  drunkenness,  and  tell  them  that 
a  drunkard  can  not  enter  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  right  down 
before  them  are  a  lot  of  distillers  and  brewers  and  whiskey-sellers^ 
and  men  who  rent  their  property  for  improper  purposes. 

"You  want  to  talk  right  to  those  fellows.  If  I  had  one  of  them 
in  my  congregation  I  would  make  him  give  up  his  evil  ways,  or 
I  would  make  him  get  out  of  my  church.  [Applause.]  Some  time 
ago  I  was  in  a  town  and  I  got  on  this  subject.  I  said  I  felt  satisfied 
that  of  the  whisky-dealers  in  that  place  one-fourth  were  church 
members.  Well,  that  made  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  and  at  last  some 
one  made  a  count  and  found  that  of  seventy-four  in  the  town  sixty- 
one  were  members  of  churches-;  thirteen  Methodists,  twelve  Pres- 
byterians, seventeen  Baptists,  and  so  on.  No,  brethren,  don't  talk 
Christ  and  His  love  to  such  reprobates.  Tell  them  how  wicked  they 
are  and  that  they  have  got  to  mend  their  ways.  [Applause.]  Let 
us  stir  up  these  things.  The  next  thing  to^  religion  is  fun,  and  if 
we  can't  do  anything  else  we  can  have  some  fun.  [Laughter.]  The 
trouble  is  that  we  are  fearful.  I,  myself,  never  had  any  fear  of 
guns  and  pistols  and  fists,  and  I  was  never  afraid  of  running  con- 
trary to-  public  opinion;  and,  I  tell  you,  it  takes  more  courage, 
ofttimes,  to  take  a  stand  against  public  opinion  than  to  walk  up  to 
the  mouth  of  a  cannon.  Up  in  Canada,  where  I  have  been,  if  a 
newspaper  assails  or  misrepresents  a  preacher  that  preacher  sits 
right  down  and  whites  a  colimin  and  a  half  in  defense  and  that 


Sam  p.  Jones.  189 

newspaper  publishes  it  the  next  day.  If  a  newspaper  assails  any 
of  you,  you  never  say  a  word  back.  Now,  I  have  seldom  had  any 
cause  to  complain  of  newspaper  men.  They  have  treated  me  very 
fairly  as  a  class.  Occasionally  some  one  of  them  gets  on  his  ear,  sits 
down  on  it,  and  fans  himself  with  the  other  (laughter),  but  they 
have  always  done  well  by  me  as  a  rule.  But  there  is  no  doubt  but 
they  do  give  currency  to  slanders  against  preachers,  and  the 
preachers  won't  say  a  word  back.  Don't  do  that  any  more.  Stand 
up  for  yourselves.  Make  men  respect  you  as  men.  Why,  look 
how  they  nominate  a  preacher  at  our  conferences.  One  brother 
wants  to  know  if  he  is  cautious,  another  wants  to  know  if  he  is  con- 
servative, and  so  on.  They  always  want  a  man  who  is  quiet  and 
meek,  and  who  will  not  step  on  anybod's  toes.  Well,  I  feel  like 
getting  up  there  and  asking  if  he  is  a  pusillanimous  pup.  (Ap- 
plause and  laughter.)  W^e  don't  want  men  to  be  meek  and  quiet. 
We  want  preachers  to  be  aggressive  and  determined — courageous 
enough  to  tell  the  people  what  miserable  sinners  they  are.  Satan 
won  this  country  by  fighting,  and  we  must  win  it  back  from  him 
in  the  same  way,  and  I  wish  when  you  find  a  man  who  has  raised 
a  row  in  some  church,  that  instead  of  crushing  him,  crucifying  him, 
you  will  give  him  your  best  charge.  To  me  there  is  no  better  recom- 
mendation for  a  man  than  that  he  has  raised  the  devil.  That's 
what  we  must  do.    We  must  raise  the  devil." 

Whether  he  was  preaching  to  the  ministers  or  the  general  pub- 
lic, they  retired,  not  weary,  but  wishing  that  he  had  spoken  longer. 
The  people  never  tired  of  his  speaking,  but  left  the  building 
discussing  him  in  the  most  enthusiastic  way.  One  young  man  was 
heard  to  remark :  "I  like  that  man,  he  seems  to  believe  what  he 
says,  and  there  is  no  nonsense  about  him."  Another  one  said :  "If 
I  were  a  lawyer,  or  a  minister,  or  any  other  person  accustomed  to 
addressing  an  audience,  I  would  study  Sam  Jones's  style;  there  is 
something  wonderful  in  it.  It  is  not  oratory  such  as  that  taught 
in  books  and  colleges ;  it  is  not  logic,  as  lawyers  and  theologians 
understand  and  teach  it,  but  it  is  something  outside  and  beyond  all 
this.  It  is  the  power  to  reach  and  influence  the  human  mind  that 
few  ministers  possess,  and  fewer  still  practice." 


190  Sam  p.  Jones. 

That  states  the  case  pretty  well.  To  most  critical  people  Mr. 
Jones  was  a  puzzle,  but  the  fact  that  he  was  a  great  power  and  kept 
himself  in  the  background,  and  placed  in  the  forefront  the  great 
truths  that  filled  his  mind  and.  controlled  his  life  helped  him  to  win 
everywhere.  Most  men  would  have  had  their  heads  turned  by  the 
tremendous  crowds  that  hung  upon  his  utterances,  but  instead  of 
being  elated,  he  was  always  humbled.  He  realized  fully  the  respon- 
sibility that  rested  upon  him,  which  made  him  stay  at  his  Master's 
feet. 

While  Mr.  Jones  was  in  Cincinnati  he  had  two  or  three  special 
semions  for  women.  At  one  time  he  spoke  to  the  young  ladies. 
It  was  a  novel  congregation,  composed  entirely  of  the  younger 
women  of  the  city.  The  sunshine  brought  a  flood  of  light  through 
the  windows  of  the  great  Music  Hall.  It  was  a  beautiful  scene  to 
see  so  many  thousand  young  girls  and  women  just  from  their  homes 
with  all  the  life  and  vivacity  of  young  womanhood.  It  is  said  that 
such  a  scene  had  never  been  presented  in  the  Music  Hall.  Again 
the  balcony,  auditorium  and  stage  were  filled  in  every  comer  by 
bright-faced  daughters,  and  a  great  crowd  of  young  girls  stood 
around  the  walls  during  the  entire  sermon.  All  sections  of  the 
city  were  well  represented  in  that  vast  audience,  and  a  great  num- 
ber were  present  from  the  suburbs  and  adjoining  cities.  Mr.  Jones 
said  it  was  one  of  the  grandest  sights  he  had  ever  seen.  He  spoke 
to  them  about  "the  things  that  should  lie  the  nearest  to  the  hearts 
of  girls,  mother,  home  and  heaven."  Perhaps  he  never  pleaded  more 
tenderly,  gently  and  lovingly  than  that  afternoon  while  addressing 
the  young  women  of  this  city. 

Later  on  he  had  a  special  service  for  "Wives  Only."  The  Music 
Hall  was  filled  from,  gallery  to  stage,  and  from  pulpit  to  doors. 
There  must  have  been  seven  thousand  wives  and  mothers  in  the 
great  auditorium.  Mr.  Jones  preached  to  them  from  Galatians 
5  :22,  23 :  "But  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suf- 
fering, and  gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temperance; 
against  such  there  is  no  law."  In  bis  sermon  he  had  a  great  deal 
to  say  about  the  worldliness  as  manifested  in  card  parties,  theatri- 
cals, and  dancing.    He  discussed  those  questions  in  his  own  peculiar 


Sam  p.  JoN:es.  191 

way,  at  times  provoking  them,  to  laughter,  while  at  other  times 
bringing  them  to  tears,  and  sometimes  making  them  just  the  least 
bit  angry.  However,  before  he  was  through  with  his  sermon,  he 
had  brought  them  around  to  his  way  of  thinking,  as  was  evidenced 
by  the  great  audience  standing  and  approving  what  he  said,  and 
also  by  the  hundreds  that  went  up  and  gave  him,  their  hands,  prom- 
ising to  be  better  wives  and  mothers.  Those  special  services  for 
women  were  very  precious  and  helpful. 

A  distinguished  pastor  who  had  been  associated  with  Mr.  Jones 
in  a  great  meeting  in  another  State,  was  passing  through  Cincin- 
nati and  attended  the  women's  meeting.    In  speaking  of  it  he  said  : 

"This  morning  at  Music  Hall  I  witnessed  a  scene  such  as  is 
rarely  presented  in  this  world.  Five  thousand  women  brought 
together  to  hear  the  great  evangelist  preach  to  mothers.  And  such 
a  sermon !  How  the  women  laughed  and  cried  as  the  preacher 
depicted  with  inimitable  wit  and  wisdom,  point  and  pathos,  the  way 
women  think,  talk,  live,  move,  and  have  their  being,  in  their  homes, 
before  their  children,  husbands,  and  servants.  The  evangelist  had 
one  of  the  grandest  opportunities  of  his  life  to  impress  the  vital 
truths  of  the  gospel  where  they  would  do  the  most  pemianent  good. 
And  well  did  he  improve  it.  Never  did  he  do  more  faithful  work 
for  the  Master.  Looking  upon  that  scene  of  five  thousand  weeping 
women,  moved  as  they  were  to  promise  to  live  better  in  their  homes 
and  be  more  faithful  toi  the  religious  training  of  their  children,  the 
possibilities  of  the  gospel  through  the  power  of  consecrated  homes 
seemed  to  be  truly  infinite.  The  work  of  that  hour,  accompanied 
as  it  was  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  ought  to  home  thousands  in  heaven. 
The  play  and  interplay  of  thought  and  feeling  upon  the  thousands 
of  upturned  faces  was  a  study  not  soon  to-  be  forgotten." 

Mr.  Jones  also  conducted  several  special  meetings  for  "men  only." 
The  mere  announcement  that  the  women  would  be  excluded  from  the 
meeting  created  a  stir,  and  curio;sity  was  aroused  so  that  the  at- 
tendance was  larger,  if  possible,  than  would  have  been  with  a 
mixed  audience.  The  weather  was  very  severe,  but  the  men  were 
there  in  such  numbers  that  the  seating  of  them  was  a  difficult 
problem.  •  Mr.  Jones  held  these  men's  meetings  in  order  to  make 


192  Sam   P.  Jones. 

room  for  the  men,  who  would  have  been  excluded  by  a  mixed 
audience.  While  he  usually  preached  a  very  straight  and  strong 
sermon  about  the  sins  of  men,  at  other  times  he  would  deliver  some 
of  his  most  beautiful  and  tender  sermons.  The  object  was  not,  as 
some  people  imagine,  to  get  the  men  together,  that  he  might  talk 
to  them  in  a  coarse  way  that  would  not  be  permitted  in  a  mixed 
audience;  but,  by  bringing  the  men  of  the  city  together,  he  could 
appeal  to  them  as  a  community  and  have  greater  results.  His 
men's  meetings  were  always  the  most  successful  of  the  series. 
When  he  came  on  the  rostrum  he  was  greeted  by  a  long,  hearty 
applause  which  fairly  shook  the  building.  Such  scenes  always 
inspired  him  to  be  at  his  best,  and  he  was  never  so  much  at  home 
as  when  speaking  to  a  body  of  men.  He  seemed  to  understand 
their  hearts,  know  their  needs,  be  conscious  of  their  weaknesses,  and 
have  sympathy  and  love  for  them.  While  discussing  their  be- 
setting sins,  going  through  the  catalogue,  making  them  hideous, 
he  was  always  in  deepest  sympathy  wdth  them,  and  while  talking 
to  them  about  their  profanity,  dishonesty,  gambling,  drunkenness, 
and  other  vices,  the  great  audience  at  times  was  wild  with  enthusi- 
astic approval,  while  at  other  times  was  as  still  as  death. 

Mr,  Jones  had  preached  to  them  that  there  is  not  one  standard 
for  woman  and  another  for  man.  His  remarks  had  produced  a 
deathlike  stillness  over  the  great  audience.  In  further  discussing 
a  clean  life,  he  referred  to  a  tragedy  that  had  just  happened  in  Cin- 
cinnati. With  his  sense  of  justice  outraged,  he  looked  the  men 
square  in  the  face  and  said :  "Men,  hear  me,  I  picked  up  the 
Enquirer  and  read  that  a  young  man  of  this  city,  of  a  prominent 
famil}'',  was  at  a  shameless  house,  a  prominent  house  of  shame, 
last  night;  he  walked  in  and  said  to  the  woman  of  the  house:  'I 
want  to  see  one  of  the  prettiest  girls  you  have,'  and  then  walked 
up  to  the  room  he  generally  occupied.  He  entered  that  room, 
presently  a  girl  came  sweeping  in,  and  he  struck  a  match  and  lit 
the  gas  and  turned  his  eye  on  the  girl,  and  instantly  jerked  his  pistol 
from  his  hip-pocket — bang,  bang — and  with  a  heavy,  dull  thud 
the  girl  fell  upon  the  floor  and  died.  They  ran  into  the  room  and 
said:    'Oh,  what  have  you  done?'     He  said:    'That  is  my  own 


Sam  p.  Jones.  193 

sister,  and  I  will  kill  her  before  she  shall  come  to  a  house  like 
this."  And  I  say  to  3^011  thousands  of  men,  fathers,  husbands,  and 
sons,  that  that  girl  had  as  much  right  in  that  house  as  her  brother 
had." 

Perhaps  there  was  never  an  audience  that  was  so  profoundly 
moved  as  the  one  that  heard  the  true  and  brave  friend  of  both  men 
and  women  speak  out  in  such  a  strong  and  manly  way.  The  ap- 
plause was  appalling,  and  thousands  of  men  went  away  believing 
as  the  man  of  God,  whO'  had  been  so  fearless  in  defending  the 
daughters  and  mothers  of  our  homes.  How^  true  it  was  as  Mr. 
Jones  said :  "If  there  was  ever  a  man  that  stood  on  the  front  steps 
of  the  American  homes  and  fought  off  the  devil  and  his  crowd, 
that  man  was  Sam  Jones." 

It  was  not  my  privilege  to  be  in  Cincinnati  all  the  time  during 
his  stay  there.  He  had  been  in  the  city  between  three  and  four 
weeks  when  I  joined  him.  The  results  of  the  great  men's  meeting 
were  the  talk  of  the  city  when  I  arrived.  Three  of  our  daughters, 
Mary,  Annie  and  Julia,  accompanied  me.  Upon  our  arrival  in  the 
city  we  were  domiciled  at  the  Gibson  house. 

A  Times-Star  reporter  called  upon  Mr.  Jones  that  morning,  and 
this  interview  appeared  in  the  afternoon  paper.  I  shall  ask  the 
reader  to  indulge  me  the  privilege  of  inserting  this  interview,  which 
is  somewhat  personal.    It  reads  as  follows : 

"Sam  Jones  is  happy  now.  His  wife  and  three  daughters  are 
with  him  at  the  Gibson  House,  and  they  are  living  as  cosily  and 
quietly  as  they  could  in  their  little  home  down  in  Cartersville,  Ga. 

"The  Jones  family  occupies  a  pleasant  suite  of  rooms  on  the  fourth 
floor,  and  have  everything  comfortable  and  convenient  about  them. 
When  the  Times-Star  man  called  this  morning,  Mr.  Jones  said : 
'This  is  my  wife,  Mrs.  Laura  Jones,'  presenting  a  handsome  lady 
with  much  evident  pride;  'and  these  are  my  daughters,  Annie  and 
Mar)','  continued  the  revivalist.  Mrs.  Jones  is  just  such  a  woman 
as  you  would  naturally  imagine  her  to  be.  Ten  chances  to  one,  if 
you  should  meet  her  on  the  street,  you  would  turn  and  say  tO'  your 
companion,  'That  must  be  Mrs.  Sam  P.  Jones.'  She  reminds  one 
somewhat  of  her  distinguished  husband.     She  has  the  same  char- 


194  Sam  P.  Jones. 

acter  of  eyes,  bright  and  sparkling,  and  only  a  shade  lighter  com- 
plexion. Her  voice  has  the  same  musical  mellowness,  and  when 
she  is  earnestly  moved  you  see  the  same  enthusiasm  in  her  manner 
that  has  marked  and  made  the  reputation  of  her  husband. 

"She  is  thoroughly  a  Southern  woman  in  disposition  and  sym- 
pathies. She  is  finely  educated,  not  only  in  literature,  but  in  per- 
sonal graces.  She  is  a  charming  conversationalist,  and  you  will 
not  be  in  her  presence  long  before  you  will  have  discovered  that 
she  is  a  superior  person,  with  the  most  delicate  appreciation  of 
culture  and  propriety.  Being  asked  how  long  she  would  remain 
in  Cincinnati,  Mrs.  Jones  replied:  'We  expect  to  stay  a  week,  at 
least,  and  maybe  longer.  My  husband  was  just  getting  a  little 
lonesome  and  homesick.  He  hadn't  been  with  us  for  a,  long  time, 
you  know,  and  we  came  up  to  comfort  him.'  " 

The  closing  days  Mr,  Jones  preached  some  of  his  most  earnest, 
pathetic  and  soul-stirring  sermons.  The  religious  tide  was  rising 
higher  each  day.  The  people  were  coming  in  from  towns  in  all 
directions,  and  the  city  was  stirred  to  its  very  depths.  At  nearly 
all  the  services,  at  the  noonday  meeting,  the  afternoon  and  evening 
services,  hundreds  were  being  converted.  It  was  estimated  that 
nearly  six  hundred  converts  daily  were  made  during  those  last' 
days.  The  great  work  was  going  on  with  a  vim,  and  vigor  that 
promised  much  for  the  future.  Dr.  Joyce  said :  "That  despite 
what  many  say,  those  who  have  been  converted  by  the  wonderful 
words  of  Mr.  Jones  will  be  led  into  better  paths  of  life,  and  they 
will  continue  in  them,  as  the  influence  that  has  been  stirred  in 
them  is  not  of  an  evanescent  character,  but  it  has  gone  down  deep, 
and  will  remain  and  be  permanent."  In  speaking  of  the  financial 
understanding  with  Mr.  Jones  as  to  his  compensation,  he  said : 
"There  are  people  who  think  they  have  information  to^  the  effect 
that  Mr.  Jones  had  a  definite  arrangement  as  to  the  amount  Trinity 
church  should  pay  him  for  his  services.  This  is  a  grave  mistake. 
Mr.  Jones  agreed  to  come  without  a  word  as  to-  what  he  should  be 
paid,  and  that  he  would  come  to  Cincinnati  if  he  did  not  receive  a 
cent,  but  got  his  meals.  When  the  fact  is  thoroughly  understood, 
as  it  is  hoped  it  will  be,  that  Mr.  Jones  is  here  without  promise  or 


Sam  p.  Jones.  195 

expectation  of  any  remuneration,  the  people  should  appreciate  the 
work  he  has  done  and  show  their  gratitude  to  God  by  contributing 
liberally  to  a  special  collection  for  Mr.  Jones." 

When  the  opportunity  was  given  the  free-will  offering  amounted 
to  something  over  eight  hm:idred  dollars. 

After  five  weeks  of  earnest  labor  Mr.  Jones  concluded  his  services 
in  Cincinnati.  It  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  revivals  in  the 
city's  history.  He  was  in  Cincinnati  for  two  other  meetings  and 
lectured  there  a  number  of  times,  holding  a  strong  grip  upon  the 
city  until  the  very  last.  Just  a  year  ago  he  held  his  last  great 
meeting  in  that  city  in  the  large  Music  Hall,  and  thousands  waited 
upon  his  ministry. 

We  notice  on  the  front  page  of  the  Cincinnati  Enquirer,  dated 
February  15,  1886,  an  account  of  the  closing  service  of  his  first 
great  meeting  there : 

"The  services  of  last  evening  concluded  the  labors  of  Sam  Jones 
in  Cincinnati.  For  five  weeks  he  has  been  laboring  in  God's  cause 
in  this  city,  and  his  efforts  have  been  crowned  with  unparalleled 
success.  Never  before  w^as  such  a  religious  awakening  known  in 
Cincinnati.  Large  crowds  have  attended  the  services  both  day  and 
night,  and  the  revivalist  has  averaged  two  sennons  each  day.  Con- 
versions have  been  many,  and  thousands  of  people  sincerely  regret 
the  departure  of  the  earnest  and  plain-spoken  preacher  from  the 
city.  It  was  generally  known  that  yesterday  was  the  last  day  of 
his  stay  here,  and  every  one  who  had  heard  him  wanted  to  hear 
him  again,  while  those  who  had  not  were  anxious  to  embrace  the 
last  opportunity.  Early  in  the  afternoon  policemen  were  stationed 
at  the  doors  to  control  the  crowd.  For  a  time  the  street  was  com- 
pletely blocked  for  two  squares  by  the  great  crowds  coming  and 
going.  It  is  not  an  extravagant  estimate  to  say  that  fifty  thousand 
people  sought  admission  to  Music  Hall  last  night. 

"As  early  as  half-past  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  large  crowd 
of  people  had  already  assembled  in  front  of  the  building  awaiting 
the  opening  of  the  doors.  By  six  o'clock,  at  which  hour  promptly 
the  doors  were  thrown  open,  the  crowd  in  front  of  the  building  had 
been  so  largely  auginented  that  within  ten  minutes  after  the  doors 


196  Sam  P.  Jones. 

opened  ten  thousand  people  were  rammed,  jammed  and  packed  in 
every  nook  and  corner  of  that  immense  building.  A  reporter,  whO' 
came  along  fifteen  minutes  after  six  o'clock,  had  great  difficulty  in 
\vorking  his  way  to  the  front  by  reason  of  the  crowds  that  thronged 
the  aisles  and  every  inch  of  standing-room  in  the  hall.  A  few 
minutes  later  the  doors  were  shut  and  bolted,  it  being  dangerous 
to  admit  any  more  people.  At  seven  o'clock  Elm  street  from 
Twelfth  to  Fourteenth  streets  was  one  surging  black  sea  of  hu- 
manity— the  locked  out.  That  nO'  one  was  crushed  to  death  is  a 
miracle.  There  were  at  least  forty  thousand  people  around  Music 
Hall.  All  the  street-cars  were  completely  blockaded,  and  the  streets 
were  utterly  impassable.  Mr.  Jones  drove  up  to  the  hall  a  little 
after  seven  o'clock,  and,  with  the  aid  of  a  stalwart  policeman,  en- 
trance was  forced  part  of  the  way,  when  finally  the  policemen  took 
him  up  on  their  shoulders  and  carried  him  to  the  entrance  of  the 
building.  When  he  reached  the  hall  he  was  almost  breathless  and 
bewildered,  looking  as  if  he  had  had  a  personal  encounter  with  some 
demonstrative  admirer.  When  he  walked  out  on  the  platform  he 
was  greeted  with  prolonged  applause. 

"Facing  the  vast  audience  he  said:  'I  thank  God  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ  can  overdraw  anything  else  in  Cincinnati.  The  ten 
thousand  people  who  got  in  and  the  forty  thousand  who  didn't, 
brand  the  statement  as  a  slander  that  this  is  a  wicked,  lawless  and 
irreligious  city.  There  is  no  truer,  nobler  or  better  city  in  the 
world  than  Cincinnati.' 

"After  preaching  his  farewell  sermon  from  Proverbs  3:17,  "Pler 
ways  are  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are  peace,"  he  told 
the  immense  audience  good-by.  Dr.  Joyce  stepped  out  to  the  end 
of  the  platform  and  taking  the  hand  of  jMr.  Jones,  who  remained 
looking  at  the  immense  congregation,  he  clasped  it  warmly.  J\Ir, 
Jones  returned  the  hand-pressure,  and  hand  to  hand  the  two  rev- 
erend gentlemen  turned  to  the  congregation  and.  ]\Ir,  Jones  said  ;■ 
'Brethren,  I  can  not  shake  hands  with  you  all  personally,  as  I  am 
nearly  worn  out,  having  had  to  remain  in  my  room  all  the  after- 
noon to  gather  strength  to  preach  to  you  to-night,  but  in  shaking: 


Sam  p.  Jones.  197' 

hands  with  Dr.  Joyce  I  shake  hands  with  you  all.  Good-by, 
brethren,  and  may  we  all  meet  together  again  in  the  glorious  here- 
after and  once  again  shake  hands  if  we  never  meet  here  on  earth.. 

Good-b}',  brethren,  good-by.'  " 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


The  Chicago  Campaign. 

Mr.  Jones  having  closed  a  five-weeks'  meeting  in  Cincinnati,  his 
next  great  undertaking  was  in  the  city  of  Chicago^.  His  fame  had 
preceded  him  until  all  Chicago  was  anxiously  awaiting  his  arrival. 
Several  times  the  question  had  come  up  regarding  his  holding  a 
meeting  in  Chicago.  Dr.  P.  S.  Henson,  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist 
church,  was  in  St.  Louis  when  Mr.  Jones  held  a  meeting  there.  He 
was  captivated  by  the  Southern  evangelist,  and  had  a  talk  with  him 
about  going  to  Chicago.  Mr.  Jones  expressed  a  willingness  to 
go,  provided  he  could  get  the  union  or  the  cooperation  of  the 
majority  of  the  churches.  Dr.  Henson,  upon  his  return  to  the  city, 
conferred  with  a  number  of  the  pastors  regarding  his  coming,  but 
the  idea  was  not  received  with  favor.  Many  of  the  pastors  were 
outspoken  in  their  opposition  and  refused  to  cooperate  in  such  a 
movement. 

Later  on  Mr.  Jones  went  to  Chicago  to  deliver  a  lecture.  Mr. 
James  Smithson,  who  was  instrumental  in  getting  him  there  to 
lecture,  was  besieged  by  half  a  dozen  reporters  for  interviews  re- 
garding his  coming.  The  people  began  to  manifest  a  great  deal 
of  interest  in  Mr.  Jones  and  his  proposed  visit  to  the  city. 

Dr.  Henson  again  proposed  his  name  before  the  pastors  on  the 
South  Side  for  a  series  of  union  revival  services.  Still  the  sug- 
gestion was  not  received  very  enthusiastically;  but,  finally,  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  go  to  Cincinnati  to  hear  Mr.  Jones  preach. 
The  prejudices  of  the  committee  were  soon  swept  away,  and  they 
unanimously  favored  getting  him  for  Chicago.  One  of  the  brother 
preachers  said  that  Dr.  McPherson,  the  chairman,  was  so  pleased 
with  Mr.  Jones  that  "he  swallowed  him  whole."  Mr.  Jones  was 
engaged  by  the  committee  to  visit  Chicago  in  the  near  future. 

(198) 


Sam  p.  Jones.  199 

The  only  terms  stipulated  by  Mr.  Jones  with  the  committee  was 
that  he  should  have  the  cooperation  of  the  South  Side  churches, 
and  the  committee  assured  him:  of  that,  - 

He  knew  that  it  was  a  big  imdertaking  to  evangelize  Chicago. 
In  speaking  of  it  he  said :  "It  is  like  biting  a  pumpkin ;  your  teeth 
won't  take  hold  of  it."  However,  he  was  vv^illing  to  go  where  his 
Master  called.  Evangelistic  work  in  Chicago,  as  in  Cincinnati,  had 
always  been  difficult.  The  churches  had  tried  and  had  dismal 
failures.  There  had  been  union  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  churches  in 
different  sections  of  the  city,  which  had  failed  to  bring  about  the  de- 
sired results.  Practically,  the  whole  city  had  united  and  cooperated 
with  prominent  evangelists,  using  the  largest  auditoriums  in  the 
central  part  of  the  city,  and  still  these  meetings  did  not  solve  the 
problems  of  evangelizing  Chicago. 

Mr.  Jones  was  an  entirely  different  preacher  from  any  one  who 
had  ever  tried  to  reach  Chicago.  The  other  evangelists  had  ap- 
pealed to  the  emotion  and  intellect  of  the  people,  but  Mr.  Jones 
came  along  with  his  sledgehammer  blows  and  took  a  middle  ground 
and  began  to  appeal  to  the  consciences  of  men  and  women.  While 
Mr.  Jones  conducted  his  meetings  on  a  very  high,  intellectual  plane, 
which  led  Dr.  David  Swing  to  say  that  it  was  the  most  intellectual 
revival  ever  held  in  Chicago,  nevertheless,  his  appeals  were  really 
directed  tO'  the  consciences  oif  men.  So^  many  people  doubted 
whether  Chicago  had  any  conscience,  and,  if  it  did,  it  was  so  sub- 
merged that  it  would  take  time  to  remove  the  debris  before  the 
work  could  really  be  effected.  His  style,  manner,  and  methods 
seemed  to  have  been  most  appropriate  and  suitable  for  this  occasion. 
Therefore,  being  on  the  "mountain-tops,"  because  of  his  great  and 
glorious  victory  in  Cincinnati,  he  moved  on  towards  Chicago  with 
strong  faith  in  God  and  with  a  dauntless  courage  and  an  indomi- 
table determination  to  push  the  battle  to  a  finish.  Baptized  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,  he  followed  the  leadership  of  the  Spirit  to  Chicago. 

Mr.  Jones  reached  Chicago  on  Saturday  evening,  February  17, 
1886,  accompanied  by  his  stenographic  clerk,  Prof.  M.  J.  Max- 
well, and  others.  Professor  Maxwell  was  not  at  that  time  regularly 
enlisted  with  Mr.  Jones,  but  his  excellent  leadership,  together  with 


200  Sam   P.  Jones. 

his  Christian  character,  had  commended  him  tO'  Mr.  Jones,  all  of 
which  ultimately  resulted  in  his  regular'  association  with  him.  At 
Monee  Station,  some  fifty  miles  from  Chicago,  the  train  bearing 
Mr.  Jones  and  party  was  boarded  by  newspaper  reporters,  detailed 
by  the  press  of  Chicago  to-  interview  him,  all  of  the  papers  ap- 
parently being  eager  for  the  first  and  fullest  sketch  of  the  man; 
the  Tribune  printed  three  columns  the  morning  after  his  arrival 
devoted  to  a  personal  description  of  him,  with  an  epitomized  sketch 
of  his  life,  together  with  an  interview  on  various  matters.  Large 
preparations  had  been  made  for  the  expected  services  in  Chicago, 
and  Mr.  Jones  was  received  with  open  arms  by  thousands  of  people. 
Adhering  to  his  usual  rule  of  stopping  at  a  hotel  in  preference  to 
accommodations  in  a  private  family,  splendid  quarters  had  been 
provided  him  at  the  Sherman  House,  to  which  place  he  was  driven 
when  he  reached  the  city ;  a  delegation  of  citizens  and  pastors  met 
him  at  the  depot  and  accompanied  him  to  his  hotel. 

Sunday  morning  was  a  cold,  blustering,  snowy  day,  but  the 
Chicago  Avenue  church-  (Moody's  Tabeniacle),  in  which  Mr.  Jones 
delivered  the  initial  sermon  in  Chicago,  was  filled  to-  overflowing. 
Late-comers  had  to  content  themselves  with  standing  in  the  extreme 
edge  of  the  auditorium.  The  Chicago  Avenue  church  was  built 
by  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Moody,  the  evangelist,  several  years  be- 
fore, and  was  an  edifice  loved  by  him.  When  Mr.  Jones  reached 
the  platform  of  the  church  he  surveyed  a  mass  of  anxious  and 
curious  spectators,  and  immediately  in  front  and  below  him  was 
a  solid  phalanx  of  newspaper  reporters.  Mr.  Jones  was  intro- 
duced by  Rev.  Charles  Frederick  Goss,  the  pastor  of  the  church. 
After  a  characteristic  introductory,  by  which  Mr.  Jones  put  his 
hearers  in  good  humor  and  in  sympathy  with  themselves  and  with 
him,  he  launched  out  into  his  regular  sermon,  and  spoke  for  an 
hour,  and  was  listened  to  with  rapt  attention.  His  text  on  this 
occasion  was  from  the  sixteenth  verse  oi  the  fifth  chapter  of  St. 
Matthew,  "Let  your  light  so  shine  before  men  that  they  may  see 
your  good  works  and  glorify  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven." 
These  words  the  eminent  revivalist  characterized  as  "the  glorious 
and  grand  string  of  monosyllabic  utterances." 


Sam  p.  Jonks.  201 

In  speaking  of  the  facnlty  of  faith  he  satirized  the  popular  ac- 
ceptation of  faith  thus :  "A  great  many  people  think  that  faith  is 
an  attitude  of  this  sort  towards  God;  your  hands  and  your  mouth 
open  wide  to  catch  something  that  God  is  going  to  pitch  to  you ;  an 
attitude  of  receptivity,  saying,  'O  Lord,  give  me  something.'  'Well, 
what  do  you  want?'  'I  don't  know,  just  give  me  something — any- 
thing you  please.'  They  think  faith  is  an  attitude  of  taking  some- 
thing, and  I  will  tell  you  the  truth — that  all  through  the  country 
we  have  been  running  on  the  sentiment  there  is  in  this  idea  of  faith 
until  our  whole  Christianity,  if  it  were  an  engine,  would  have  gone 
altogether  into  the  whistle  and  could  do  nothing  but  blow  all  over 
God's  creation."  This  unique  and  original  unfolding  of  the  popular 
and  absurd  idea  of  faith  Vv^as  received  with  unsuppressed  laughter, 
but  sensed  as  food  for  thought  to-  many. 

The  Casino  Skating  Rink  on  the  South  Side,  an  immense  audi- 
torium, had  been  secured  for  the  night  meetings.  The  first  service 
held  there  by  Mr.  Jones  was  on  the  afternoon  of  his  first  Sunday 
in  Chicago,  when  fully  six  thousand  people  were  present.  The 
choir,  which  consisted  of  nearly  two  hundred  singers,  was  arranged 
on  a  huge  platform  from  which  Mr.  Jones  spoke;  many  notable 
divines  and  prominent  laymen  were  also  on  the  platfonn.  The 
audience  on  this,  as  on  every  other  occasion  when  Mr.  Jones 
preached,  was  attentive  and  appreciative.  The  speaker  again  looked 
upon  at  least  thirty-five  reporters  for  the  press,  the  majority  of 
whom  were  stenographers,  not  alone  for  the  great  dailies  of  Chicago, 
but  representatives  of  the  press  from  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati,  and 
other  distant  cities.  Right  here  may  be  mentioned  the  ordeal  that 
Mr.  Jones  had  to  encounter  in  consequence  of  all  of  his  utterances 
being  daily  printed  in  the  papers  of  the  cities  mentioned.  It  will  be 
remembered  that  he  held  revival  services  lasting  four  weeks  in 
St.  Louis,  closing  there  late  in  December,  and  every  sermon  de- 
livered during  that  time  had  been  reported  verbatim  and  published 
daily,  and  following  immediately  upon  these  services  came  the 
wonderful  revival  conducted  by  Mr.  Jones  in  the  Music  Hall  in 
Cincinnati,  which  continued  for  five  weeks.  Here,  too,  every  pub- 
lic utterance  was  published  broadcast  by  the  Coimnercial  Gazette 


202  Sam  T.  Jonks. 

and  the  Enquirer^  not  to  say  anything  of  the  reports  of  the  lesser 
Hghts  of  the  press.  And  now  in  Chicago  the  principal  papers  of 
the  two  cities  mentioned  had  reporters  present  to  telegraph  nightly 
the  discourses  delivered  by  Mr.  Jones.  The  Glohe-Democrat,  of 
St.  Louis,  and  the  two  papers  alluded  to  in  Cincinnati  had  leased 
Western  Union  Telegraph  wires,  and  simultaneously  with  the  issues 
of  the  Chicago  papers  gave  their  readers  the  same  sermons  preached 
the  day  before.  The  ordeal  was  as  unprecedented  as  it  was  severe. 
As  a  prominent  newspaper  man  said :  "The  press  has  never  in  the 
world's  history  followed  any  man  so  closely,  be  he  king,  potentate 
or  preacher."  Mr.  Jones  had  preached  probably  one  hundred  ser- 
mons during  his  St.  Louis  services,  and  had  not  preached  less  than 
one  hundred  and  fifty  times  in  his  revival  in  Cincinnati,  making  a 
total  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  sermons  in  little  more  than  two 
months,  and  here  he  was  entering  the  arena  for  another  combat 
with  sin  and  evil  and  wrong  methods  of  life,  and  yet  he  must  take 
care  not  to  use  exactly  the  same, weapons  of  words.  The  people 
to  whom  he  had  just  preached  would  not  be  content  to  read  repeti- 
tions, and  while  Mr.  Jones  may  not  at  that  time  have  thought  or 
even  cared  for  what  the  world  would  say,  it  is  nevertheless  true 
that  his  repetitions  were  few  indeed.  True  it  is,  that  he  had  the 
same  sins  and  hypocrisies  to  denounce  that  he  had  elsewhere,  but 
the  wonderful  fertility  of  hisi  mental  resources  furnished  him  con- 
stantly new  words  and  brighter  illustrations. 

The  reports  of  these  daily  services  were  to  be  given  to  the  entire 
United  States  through  the  press  of  Chicago  and  the  other  great 
cities,  where  the  daily  papers  were  giving  verbatim  reports  of  the 
sermons.  Perhaps  the  scheme  inaugurated  by  these  great  daily  pa- 
pers was  the  most  remarkable  that  was  ever  connected  with  a  revival 
campaign.  There  were  three  or  four  stenographers  representing 
each  paper,  with  a  number  of  copyists  near  by,  and,  while  the  ser- 
mon was  being  delivered,  this  work  of  reporting,  transcribing  and 
telegraphing  was  going  on.  One  set  of  workers  relieving  another, 
and  each  word  as  it  fell  from  the  lips  of  Mr.  Jones  was  flashing 
over  the  wires  in  every  direction.  In  speaking  of  this  great  honor 
Mr.  Jones  said : 


Sam  p.  Jones.  -203 

"Take  the  work  in  Chicago,  for  instance.  In  the  Intcr-Ocean 
and  Tribune,  the  Cincinnati  Commercial  Gazette  and  Enquirer,  and 
the  St.  Louis  Gtohe-Democrat,  all  of  them  with  an  aggregated 
circulation  of  three  hundred  thousand,  and  with  the  reasonable  cal- 
culation of  five  readers  to  a  copy  circulated,  I  enjoyed  the  privilege 
of  preaching  to  a  million  and  a  half  persons  a  day — a  wonderful 
congregation  for  one  pr^.cher,  and  a  privilege,  I  dare  say,  that  no 
other  man  in  the  history  of  the  Church  has  ever  enjoyed.  Think 
of  it,  nine  thousand  words  each  night,  as  they  flashed  out  on  eighteen 
different  telegraph  wires  to  the  cities  of  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati 
while  they  were  being  set  in  type  by  the  papers  of  Chicago!  Thus, 
a.t  the  breakfast-table  the  next  morning,  in  the^e  three  cities,  I  was 
greeted  by  three  hundred  thousand  readers,  and  before  the  sun 
w^ent  down  that  day  a  million  and  a  half  more  had  read  the  words. 
From  the  statement  of  newspaper  men,  I  suppose  that  is  a  reason- 
able estimate.  The  secular  papers  are  so  much  more  alive  and 
aggressive  than  the  religious  papers  that  when  they  fall  into  line 
with  a  good  work  they  are  a  power  we  scarcely  know  how  to  esti- 
mate." 

For  the  first  fortnight  Mr.  Jones  preached  three  times  daily,  in 
the  morning,  usually  at  some  church,  at  the  noon  hour,  in  Farwell 
Hall  (Y.  M.  C.  A.)  or  at  the  Rink,  and  at  night,  always  at  the  last- 
named  place.  This  great  hall  at  night  was  brilliantly  illuminated 
by  gas  and  electricity,  and,  as  it  was  said,  "the  light  was  pleasantly 
reflected  from  the  faces  of  the  immense  audiences."  The  audiences 
to  which  he  preached  daily  in  Chicago  numbered  between  ten  and 
twelve  thousand  people,  the  Rink  alone  holding  between  five  and 
seven  thousand  persons  at  a  service. 

Mr.  Jones's  method  in  a  series  of  sendees,  as  already  indicated, 
was  always  first  to  stir  up  the  churches,  to  show  the  fallacy  and 
sinfulness  o^f  a  mechanical  worship,  a  pretended  worship  of  God  by 
the  lips  only.  He  invariably  turned  the  so-called  Christians  over 
and  over,  and  presented  the  interior  of  truth  to  them  and  compelled 
them  to  look  steadily  at  it,  and  showed  them  sin  in  all  its  hideous- 
ness,  nor  did  the  preachers  themselves  escape  his  keen  satire. 

Speaking  of  Mr.  Jones  in  a  sermon  preached  in  Chicago  while 


204  Sam   P.  Jones. 

he  was  there,  Rev.  C.  S.  Blackwell,  of  St.  Louis,  said :  "Mr.  Jones 
does  not  stop  to  prove  there  is  a  God,  but  assumes  such  a  thing  to 
be  true.  He  assumes  the  latent  conviction  of  Christianity  in  the 
human  heart  and  he  strives  to  stir  up  this  conviction;  he  reahzes 
that  the  churches  are  fuH  of  sleeping  and  apathetic  Christians,  and 
something  is  needed  to  wake  them  up.  Mr.  Jones,  by  his  crude  way 
and  some  gigantic  thoughts,  awakened  the  Christian  community. 
Many  men  outside  of  the  church,  including  lawyers,  teachers  and 
business  men,  carry  their  own  convictions  and  have  them  w^rapped 
up  and  laid  away,  while  many  clergymen  are  toO'  polite  to  break  in 
upon  their  apathy,  but  Jones  comes  along  and  does  it;  the  result 
that  has  followed  his  work  is  wonderful.  He  did  a  great  deal  of 
good  in  St.  Louis  and  will  do  so  in  Chicago." 

Some  of  the  papers  in  Chicago  printed  sketches  of  the  postures 
and  gestures  alleged  to  be  assumed  by  i\Ir.  Jones  while  speaking. 
All  of  them  had  descriptions  of  his  appearance  as  he  stood  before 
his  audiences,  some  of  which  were  really  amusing. 

Mr.  Jones  w^on  his  w^ay  to  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  Chicago 
completely  before  he  had  been  wath  them  three  days,  the  great 
newspapers  following  him  closely  in  all  his  remarks,  devoting  as 
much  as  thirteen  columns  each  day  to  his  sermons. 

An  episode  occurred  on  the  second  day  of  Mr.  Jones's  stay  in 
Chicago  that  created,  for  a  short  time,  a  little  ripple  of  excitement 
among  some  of  the  church  people.  In  the  afternoon  on  that  day 
Mr.  Jones  preached  at. the  First  Baptist  church  to  an  audience  of 
about  fifteen  hundred  people,  choosing  for  his  text  the  first  verse 
of  First  Thessalonians — "Paul  and  Silvanus  and  Timotheus,  unto 
the  church  of  the  Thessalonians  which  is  in  God  the  Father  and  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  In  the  course  of  his  sermon  he  compared 
the  modern  church  to  a  schoolboy's  copybook.  The  first  line  on 
the  page  was  fashioned  after  the  copy  and  was  comparatively  fair, 
the  next  line  was  not  so  good,  and  so'  on  until  the  last  was  the 
worst,  bearing  but  faint  resemblance  to  the  original  copy.  There 
had  been  some  progress  in  theology,  but  none  in  Christianity. 
"The  text,"  he  said,  "showed  that  the  early  church  lived  in  God." 
During  the  sermon  Mr.  Jones  remarked :    "It  takes  prayer  to  have 


Sam  p.  Joxes.  205 

good  preaching,  it  takes  pi-a3'er  to  have  good  Hsteners.  How  many 
of  3'ou  prayed  for  the  success  of  this  meeting  before  coming  down 
■here  to-day  ?  Let  all  stand  up  who  got  down  on  their  knees  before 
coming  to  this  meeting." 

A  few  arose  and  i\Ir.  Jones  continued,  saying:  "I  could,  I  think, 
get  a  better  meeting  in  Hong-Kong  than  this,  for  I  could  not 
find  a  congregation  there  as  large  as  this  with  so  few  people 
who  prayed."  Several  persons  then  said  they  had  prayed  while 
they  were  coming  to  the  meeting,  among  them  Rev.  Dr.  Sctidder. 
"Has  any  one  else  any  exculpatory  remarks  to  make?"  asked  Mr. 
Jones.  "They  are  not  exculpatory,  they  are  true,"  interposed  Dr. 
Scudder. 

An  old  gentleman  arose  and  said  he  had  been  praying  with  a 
gambler,  but  he  did  not  believe  it  necessary  to  get  down  on  his 
knees  to  pray.  After  some  remarks,  Mr.  Jones  explained  that  he 
did  not  mean  to  use  the  word  "exculpatory"  in  the  sense  of  censure, 
but  in  the  sense  of  an  explanation,  and  the  fashionable  church-mem- 
bers were  somewhat  mollified. 

One  short  little  pen-sketch  of  Mr.  Jones  as  he  appeared  to  a 
Chicago  audience,  published  in  the  Intcr-Ocean  of  that  city  in  its 
reports  of  one  of  his  seniions,  is  so  true  that  it  is  reproduced  here : 
"In  the  meantime  a  man  steps  quietly  in  and  up  to  the  platform — 
the  man  on  whom  so  many  Chicagoans  are  looking  at  present — the 
Rev.  Sam  Jones.  For  a  while  he  sits  in  silence,  occasionally  ex- 
changing a  word  with  some  pastor  near,  and  then,  after  another 
song,  the  look  of  expectanc}^  on  the  faces  of  the  audience  finds  satis- 
faction in  the  presence  at  the  desk  of  the  revivalist.  Slowly,  and 
what  in  some  men  would  be  a  slipshod  style,  but  which  in  him 
is  unaffected  and  attractive,  the  speaker  begins  and  gradually  warms 
tip  to  his  subject.  He  rarely  goes  beyond  the  boundary  of  conver- 
sational tones,  and  goes  not  at  all  over  intO'  the  alluring  but  un- 
profitable field  of  declamatory  vehemence.  The  people  near  the 
speaker  can  see  something  beside  the  odd  gestures,  the  peculiar, 
slow,  short  step,  the  apparently  absent-minded  movement  of  the 
hiand  to  the  pocket  or  forehead,  and  this  somehing  is  the  smile  of 
the  revivalist,  quaint,  kindly,  quizzical  almost,  a  smile  that  starts 


206  Sam  P.  Jones. 

in  no  place  in  particular  and  spreads  over  the  face  until  it  touches 
every  feature  and  brings  out  the  whole  in  a  new  and  pleasing  light. 
At  one  time  one  may  think  it  the  oddity  of  expression  that  attracts, 
at  another  the  Southern  slowness,  at  another  the  laconic  expression, 
at  another  the  witty  stories,  at  another  time  the  earnest  appeal  for 
higher,  nobler,  purer,  better  lives;  but  all  the  time  one  can  not  but 
find  interest  in  what  is  said,  and  said  so'  strongly." 

The  club-houses,  palatial  and  luxurious,  in  Chicago,  as  in  many 
other  cities,  are  patronized  by  the  millionaires  and  ultra-fashionable 
men  of  the  community,  but  Mr,  Jones  soon  discovered  that  though 
wealth,  fashion  and  influence  controlled  them,  they  were  in  fact' 
but  gilded  dens  of  vice  and  godlessness.  So'  in  one  of  his  early 
sermons  to  many  thousand  hearers  he  scored  the  club-life  severely, 
saying:  "Whenever  you  go  into  a  club-house  that  has  a  billiard- 
table  and  a  card-room  in  it,  tell  them  that  I  say  it  is  the  ante-room 
to  hell  to  every  man  who  goes  into  it  [applause]  ;  that  is  the  only 
definition  of  it  I  will  give.  I  don't  care  if  the  house  they  occupy 
costs  a  million  dollars,  decanters  out  of  which,  they  poured  their 
wine  are  fifty  dollars  each;  I  don't  care  if  their  cards  are  silk  cards 
and  they  play  them  on  mahognay  tables,  or  if  their  billiard-tables 
cost  ten  thousand  dollars  apiece  and  their  billiard-balls  fifty  dollars 
apiece,  I  say  to  you  the  more  you  gild  sin  the  more  it  stinks  in  the 
nostrils  of  God." 

Some  attacks  were  made  on  Mr.  Jones's  indiscriminate  denuncia- 
tion of  fashionable  society.  He  characterized  society  as  a  "hollow, 
dirty,  cowardly,  sneaking,  miserable  wretch.  Heartless !  heartless !" 
Defining  his  position  of  it  he  said :  "Whenever  you  see  a  card- 
room  in  a  house,  a  wine-room  and  a  billiard-room,  let  me  say  to  you 
there  is  a  family  that  belongs  to  the  society  of  the  city,  whether  the 
remainder  of  the  crowd  will  acknowledge  them  or  not.  It  is  owing 
to  how  much  money  you  have  got  and  how  freely  you  spend  it 
whether  they  will  take  you  in  or  not.  In  all  of  my  experience  I  have 
never  met  a  single  man  who  prayed  in  his  family  night  and  morn- 
ing, and  paid  his  just  debts  and  lived  honestly,  who  would  cover 
up  the  cards  in  his  house."  Referring  to  the  charges  made  by  a  few 
that  he  said  unjust  things  in  his  attack  upon  sin  and  he  ought  to 


Sam  p.  Jonks.  207 

apologize  for  some  of  his  utterances,  he  said  in  his  characteristic 
way :  "I  get  to  the  point  sometimes  where  they  say,  'Jones,  you  said 
some  mighty  hard  things.  You  ought  to  apologize.'  Ought  to 
apologize?  Well,  sir,  if  I  say  a  thing  while  I  am  in  Chicago  that 
hurts  a  man  who  prays  night  and  mortiing  in  his  family,  and  pays 
his  just  debts,  and  hasn't  but  one  wife  [laughter],  lives  right  before 
good  men,  if  I  hurt  that  sort  of  a  man  I  will  apologize  every  time. 
But  I  will  die  before  I  will  apologize  to  you  uncircumcised  Philis- 
tines.    I  won't  do  it."     [Applause.] 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


The  Chicago  Campaign  (Continued.) 

Chicago  had  had  much  experience  in  revival  and  reform  work. 
Mr.  Jones's  unique  style  and  peculiar  place  in  the  evangelistic  world 
put  people  to  thinking  and  talking. 

The  interest  became  so  intense  that  the  newspapers  resorted  to 
every  conceivable  plan  to  find  out  the  minds  of  the  people  regarding 
the  evangelist  and  the  great  meeting.  They  sent  out  reporters  to 
interview  the  saloon-keepers  to  get  their  opinion  of  Sam,  Jones  and 
his  work.  They  gave  much  space  to  these  interviews  with  the 
saloon-keepers.  Almost  every  one  said  practically  the  same  thing. 
Of  course  they  had  to  speak  of  his  work  from  a  mercenary  stand- 
point and  accuse  him  of  being  out  for  the  money  there  was  in  it. 
They  also  declared  that  they  were  attending  to  their  own  business, 
and  that  Mr.  Jones  ought  to  attend  to^  his.  Some  of  themi  declared 
that  his  preaching  hadn't  affected  the  class  that  patronized  their 
saloons,  while  others  admitted  freely  and  frankly  that  he  was  hurt- 
ing their  business  considerably.  After  interviewing  the  saloon- 
keepers, they  made  a  round  of  the  business  men  and  prominent  cit- 
izens. Then  they  interviewed  several  eminent  ministers  who  gave 
their  views  regarding  Mr.  Jones  and  his  work,  which  were  also 
published.  Among  those  that  expressed  themselves  on  the  subject 
were  Pro'fessor  David  Swing,  Dr.  H.  W.  Thomas,  Dr.  S.  J.  McPher- 
son  and  Dr.  P.  S.  Henson.  These  opinions  are  thought  worthy  of 
a  place  here,  and,  therefore,  are  inserted.  Mr.  Frank  Hatton,  editor 
of  the  Mail,  sent  out  these  interviewers,  and  the  following  answers 
were  received.  While  we  can  not  print  all  the  estimates  that 
were  sent  in,  we  have  selected  se^•eral  from  the  more  prominent 
ministers. 

Prof.  David  Swing  said :    "In  reply  to  your  inquiry,  my  answer 

(208) 


Sam  p.  Jones.  209 

is  given  in  favor  of  Sam  Jones.  I  have  made  quite  a  study  of  him. 
He  is  a  most  powerful  exponent  and  advocate  of  the  religion  of 
action — the  religion  of  character  as  opposed  to  that  of  mere  belief 
and  mere  melancholy  sentiment.  Sam  Jones  has  no  doubt  seen  in 
the  South  the  average  religion  of  the  colored  person,  who  will  sing 
till  midnight  Tse  gwine  hum  to  glory/  and  who,  after  church,  on 
his  way  to  his  earthly  cabin  will  steal  a  chicken  or  two — his  religious 
glory  having  oozed  out  of  him  while  he  was  passing  the  hen-house. 
This  revivalist  is  the  most  intellectual  one  Chicago  has  yet  enjoyed ; 
and,  should  the  converts  not  be  numerous,  those  who  shall  be  enrolled 
will  be  placed  upon  a  basis  of  solid  sense  rather  than  upon  one  of 
hymn-singing  and  transient  sentiment.  Sami  Jones  deals  only  in 
great  commodities — love  of  righteousness  and  hatred  of  evil;  love 
of  Christ  and  aversion  to  Satan,  and  in  the  obligations  of  every 
person  to  follow  Christ  and  abandon  the  devil.  His  anecdotes, 
wit  and  personal  oddities  rivet  attention  and  make  old  truths  as 
fresh  as  though  they  had  just  been  discovered. 

"I  think  now  more  highly  of  Mr.  Jones  than  I  thought  of  him 
before  he  came,  because  his  manner  and  spirit  are  a  part  of  his 
power  which  the  reporters  could  not  touch.  He  abuses  kindly.  He 
calls  us  fools  and  lunatics,  but  still  he  likes  us.  Fools  as  we  are  he 
is  anxious  to  have  us  get  to  heaven,  both  on  earth  and  beyond.  His 
heaven  is  here  to-day,  as  well  as  over  yonder  to-morrow.  He  asso- 
ciates God's  spirit  and  men's  common  sense,  prayer  and  good,  hard 
work,  and  makes  God  help  those  who  help  themselves.  Up  to  this 
day  Sam  Jones  seems  a  valuable  Christian  moral  force." 

The  Rev.  S.  P.  McPherson  took  the  position  that  ■Mr.  Jones's 
denunciation  of  amusement  is  too  indiscriminate.  He  said  :  "Cur- 
rent objections  to  'Sam  Jones'  apply  mainly  to  the  method  rather 
than  to  the  matter  of  his  preaching.  Like  Mr.  Moody,  and  even 
like  St.  Paul,  he  violates  the  laws  of  grammar  and  rhetoric;  like 
the  average  he  uses  'slang'  which  everybody  understands,  and  se- 
vere good  taste  condemns.  Well,  society  novel  and  pleasure  of  'the 
French  school,'  'art  for  art's  sake,'  newspaper  reports  of  crime  and 
vice,  insinuate  all  sorts  of  moral  abominations  in  an  artistic  form 


210  Sam  p.  Jones. 

which  renders  them  tolerable  to  fastidious  tastes.  The  sermons  of  a 
'cultivated'  preacher  may  become  standard  literature  without  griping 
the  country.  The  real  question  is,  whether  we  shall  fear  to  break 
the  canon  of  esthetics  or  the  Ten  Commandments.  Shall  we 
measure  life  by  the  fine  arts  or  by  good  morals  ?  'Slang'  is  bad  in 
its  own  sphere,  even  though  it  should  be  incorporated  in  the  classics 
of  our  grandchildren,  but  sin  is  fatally  and  unchangeably  bad  to  all 
eternity. 

"Again,  there  is  the  usual  fear  of  a  'reaction'  from  the  influence 
of  this  evangelist  because  he  is  a  revivalist.     But  is  there  more  peril 
in  a  possible  reaction   than  in  the  prevailing  moral   stagnation? 
There  is  no  danger  of  any  reaction  against  this  stagnation  except 
in  a  revival.     Shall  the  wicked  never  arouse  lest  some  of  them 
should  relapse?     The  whole  history  of  morals  and  religions  show 
that  God  never  asked  such  a  question.     This  sort  of  logic  would 
have  dissuaded  Christ  from,  coming  tO'  Bethlehem,  and   Calvary. 
We  becomiC  so  habituated  to  sin  that  we  disparage  or  even  justify 
it ;   we  sometimes  gO'  so  far  as  tO'  make  merchandise  of  it,  but  Mr. 
Jones  is  raising  moral  issues  in  this  great  community.     It  is  in  the 
light  of  this  fact  that  we  ought  to  measure  his  treatment  of  certain 
'amusements.'    Like  many  others  I  regard  his  denunciations  of  them 
as  toO'  indiscriminate.      But   I   should   dislike  to  be   so'  'narrow- 
gauged'  as  to  deny  him,  the  right  to  his  own  opinion  and  interpreta- 
tion of  them.    Even  if  he  does  err  on  the  side  of  stringency,  any  one 
may  fairly  ask  whether  the  common  error  be  not  on  the  side  of 
laxity.     We  may  well  thank  him  for  compelling  us  to  review  our 
estimate  of  them,  not  in  the  light  of  their  business  success.,  of  their 
pleasureableness,  but  of  their  relations  to.  Christianity  and  their  in- 
fluence upon  health  and  morals.     If  the  general  tendency  of  these 
things  is  toward  Jesus  Christ,  Mr.  Jones  is  wrong;   but  not  other- 
wise.    The  moral  'reaction'  of  his  teachings  on  this  point  can  be 
easily  measured  by  experience  and  by  Scripture.     The  lapse  into 
moral  indifference  over  them  seems  tO'  me  far  more  perilous  than 
any  probable  relapse  resulting  from  a  revision  of  our  opinions  of 
them  with  special  regard  to  the  final  judgment  of  God.     But  what- 
ever his  imperfections,  he  seems  to  have  the  seal  of  God's  approval 


Sam  p.  Jones.  211 

and  he  finds  the  way  to  sinners'  hearts.  It  is  not,  therefore,  my 
duty  to  repulse  him  because  he  has  Hmitations ;  it  is  rather  my  priv- 
ilege to  cooperate  with  him,  because  he  preaches  truth  in  his  own 
way." 

Rev.  P.  S.  Henson  hails  the  event  of  the  evangelist  with  exceed- 
ing satisfaction.  He  said :  "In  response  to  your  request  for  an 
expression  of  my  opinion  as  to  'the  good  results'  likely  to  follow 
from  the  evangelistic  labors  of  Mr.  Jones,  it  gives  me  pleasure  to 
say  that  for  one  that  I  hail  his  coming  with  exceeding  satisfaction, 
and  that  for  several  reasons  which  I  do  not  hesitate  thus  publicly 
to  avow.  First  of  all,  I  rejoice  to  believe  that  through  him  the 
gospel  was  preached  to  a  great  multitude  of  people,  such  as  do  not 
ordinarily  attend  any  places  of  worship.  Faith  comes  by  hearing. 
All  the  gospel  asks  for  is  an  honest  hearing',  and  this  man,  with 
his  grand  humor,  'audacious  courage,  palpable  sincerity  and  homely 
yet  manly  style  of  speech  is  sure  to  have  hearing.  And  whenever 
the  gospel  gets  a  hearing  it  always  proves  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation,  in  the  nineteenth  century  nO'  less  than  the  first. 

"In  the  second  place,  there  are  great  public  questions  touching 
public  morals  and  public  decency,  touching  Sabbath-breaking,  rum- 
drinking  and  rum-selling,  gambling,  licentiousness,  fraudulent  deal- 
ing, and  what  in  his  vigorous  vernacular  this  evangelist  should 
brand  as  'downright  meanness'  that  need  be  treated  with  just  such 
sledgehammers  as  he  knows  how  to  wield.  Nothing  but  steamham- 
mer  blows  like  these  will  wake  a  city  plunged  in  sinful  apathy.  Oh, 
for  the  days  of  Moody !  cries  out  somebody  who  is  hurt.  For  one,  I 
believe  in  Moody  with  all  my  heart,  but  this  man  is  doing  a  work 
that  Moody  never  did,  and  yet  that  mightily  needs  to  be  done. 
History  records  not  the  name  of  a  single  great  reformer  that  did 
not  wear  a  hairy  mantle  and  deal  blows  with  a  bludgeon.  Such 
an  one  was  Martin  Luther,  and  such  was  Jolin  Knox,  and  Elijah 
and  John  the  Baptist.  The  complaint  brought  against  the  early 
Christians  was  that  they  were  disturbers  of  the  public  peace,  'pesti- 
lent fellows,'  that  were  turning  the  world  'upside  down.'  My  own 
very  clear  conviction  is  that  Jones  is  in  the  line  of  'Apostolic  suc- 
cession,' and  that  his  coming  to  Chicago  will  prove  a  great  and 
lasting  blessing." 


212  ;  Sam  P.  Jones. 

-Rev.  H.  W.  Thomas  expects  good  results  from  the  preaching  of 
the  Southern  evangehst.  He  says:  "Christ  commissions  us  to 
preach  it  to  all  the  world;  but  regular  methods  of  evangelization 
actually  touch  only  the  minority.  Critics  object  to  Mr.  Jones's 
wit  and  humor.  But  if  wit  and  humor  open  doors  which  were 
otherwise  closed  to  the  gospel  why  should  its  friends  not  rejoice? 
The  moral  quality  of  laughter  depends  upon  its  associations.  If  it 
can  be  made  to  cast  up  a  highway  by  which  the  Son  of  God  can 
enter  human  hearts  it  lias  returned  to  its  true  usage;  it  is  then  as 
good  as  tears  or  fastings.  Why  should  we  renounce  any  method, 
however  unfamiliar,  that  brings  men  back  to  God.  Let  us  fear 
lest  there  be  no  less  danger  of  bigotry  in  our  methods  than  in  our 
theology.  Let  us  rejoice,  like  Paul,  'that  in  every  way  Christ  is 
'proclaimed.'  For  one  I  welcome  every  method  that  makes  the 
proclamation  more  widespread. 

"Mr.  Jones  is  a  preacher  of  righteousness.  He  makes  few  appeals 
to  emotion  or  sentimentality.  He  is  a  modern  John  the  Baptist, 
who  powerfully  exhorts  us  all  to  bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repent- 
ance. He  plows  through  the  subsoil  of  sin  and  turns  it  up  into  the 
sunlight.  Some  objection  is  made  by  many  worthy  Christians  that 
he  does  not  sufficiently  preach  the  'gospel'  in  the  sense  of  a  free 
and  gracious  salvation  by  Christ.  It  is  true  that  he  does  not  put 
the  emphasis  of  his  preaching  on  that  point.  But  what  do  we  need 
first?  No  man  will  turn  to  Christ  for  salvation  until  after  he  dis- 
covers the  exceeding  sinfulness  of  sin,  and  in  my  belief  the  sense  of 
damning  sin  is  just  what  our  age  chiefly  lacks. 

"In  one  of  his  sermons  Brother  Jones  said  that  'the  greatest 
preacher  that  ever  stood  in  the  pulpit  in  Chicago  is  the  preacher 
that  has  got  the  most  love  for  the  human  family.  I  am  running 
on  love,  love  that  says,  "I  am  going  on  with  my  work  ti-ying  to 
save  my  fellows.'  "  There  is  a  want,  a  generous  catholicity  in  these 
words  that  should  win  all  of  our  hearts. 

"Brother  Jones  has  no  sympathy  with  the  old  doctrine  of  impu- 
tation; that  the  sin  of  Adam  was  imputed  through  the  race  and 
that  God  would  have  destroyed  this  world  long  ago  if  Christ  had 
not  died.      'Now,  listen  to  me,'  he  says,    'my  intelligence,  my  man- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  213 

hood,  could  never  love  a  God,  who  made  Christ  die  to  satisfy  his 
wrath,  but  when  you  say  God  loves  us  and  Christ  died  as  a  man- 
ifestation of  that  love,  when  you  put  it  that  way,  I  can  love  him 
with  all  my  heart.'  This  is  the  doctrine  of  the  suffering  of  love 
to  save,  and  against  it  infidelity  can  bring  no  argument.  Let  us 
all  rejoice  that  Brother  Jones  preaches  this  blessed  truth,  and  not 
that  Christ  died  to  'reconcile  the  father'  or  to  satisfy  justice. 

"As  to  the  general  effects  of  such  teaching,  conjoined  with  the 
powerful  emphasis  that  he  places  upon  truth  and  justice  and  all 
moral  virtues,  they  must  be  good.  And  his  manner  of  emphasizing 
the  'need  of  good  sense'  in  religion  is  most  healthy.  He  may  seem 
over-positive  in  some  things,  but  as  a  revivalist  he  should  be  pos- 
itive, and  one  should  easily  forgive  his  earnestness  when  it  may 
to  us  seem  to  go  to  extremes  in  some  things." 

Rev.  George  C.  Lorimer,  D.D.,  of  the  Emanuel  Baptist  church, 
was  not  talkative  on  the  subject. 

"I  regard  it,"  said  he,  "a  somewhat  delicate  matter  for  ministers 
to  express  themselves  about  what  they  think  of  Mr.  Jones.  He 
is  to  a  certain  extent  our  guest,  and  we  are  bound  in  all  honor  to 
stand  by  him.  I  would  not  offer  any  criticisms  under  the  circum- 
stances, 

"I  think  the  work  has  started  out  well.  He  has  made  progress. 
We  can  hardly  judge  it  as  yet.  I  feel  that  his  work  is  fully  up  to 
expectations,  and  I  think  that  the  meetings  of  Mr.  Jones  will  result 
in  marked  blessings  to  the  people  of  the  city." 

The  meetings  continued  five  weeks.  The  attendance  increased 
until  the  very  last.  The  interest  became  more  intense  as  the  services 
progressed.  The  conversions  began  the  first  week  and  each  week 
there  were  increasing  numbers.  Mr.  Jones  said:  "I  have  never 
yet  struck  a  place  where  there  was  so  much  orthodoxy  and  devil- 
ment as  there  is  in  Chicago."  Speaking  further  to  the  Commercial 
Gazette  reporter,  he  said:  "You  ask  me  what  I  think  of  the  pres- 
ent revival  in  this  city.  It  couldn't  be  a  better  one.  In  all  my 
life  as  an  e\'^ngelist  I  have  never  seen  such  interest  manifested  in 
a  revival.  There  is  no  trouble  about  it.  Chicago  has  beaten  the 
first  two  weeks  record  of  St.  Louis  and  Cincinnati,  and  that  is  some- 


214  Sam  P.  Jones. 

thing  I  had  not  anticipated."  At  the  end  of  the  second  week,  Mr.- 
Jones  said  there  had  been  about  five  hundred  conversions.  The 
third  week  the  number  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  one  thousand. 
The  next  Aveek  Mr.  Jones  said  that  a  larger  number  remained  at  the 
after-meeting  than  any  service  except  Sunday.  This  indicates  an 
increased  interest  that  was  very  gratifying  to  the  committee.  In 
Mr.  Jones's  own  language,  the  revival  was  booming.  The  opposition 
had  gradually  died  away  as  people  began  to  be  saved,  and  when 
the  last  days  of  the  meeting  came,  it  was  with  great  sorrow  that 
the  people  said  good-by  to  Mr.  Jones.  In  the  Record  of  Christian 
Work,  published  by  Fleming  H.  Revell,  April,  1886,  we  clip  a 
paragraph  from  a  lengthy  editorial :  "Mr.  Jones's  coming  to  Chi- 
cago and  preaching  to  the  Northwest  is  a  benediction  to  all  the 
churches.  The  moral  atmosphere  will  be  clearer  henceforth,  and 
the  Christian  living  will  mean  more,  and  the  church  will  recjuire 
more  of  its  membership.  Mr.  Moody,  with  his  usual  sagacity,  saw 
the  needs  of  Chicago,  as  perhaps  no  other  man  did,  and  induced 
Mr.  Jones  to  turn  his  steps  hither,  and  begin  this  work,  and  his 
promise  has  been  more  than  fulfilled.  Probably,  there  never  has 
been  such  a  revival  in  this  city  before.  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that 
hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  have  been  converted,  and  hundreds  of 
Christians  have  been  led  to  a  new  consecration  to  God's  service."  • 

In  closing  the  chapter  on  the  work  in  Chicago,  we  can  not  do 
better  than  to  take  from  the  Tribune  of  April  5th,  its  account  of 
the  last  service : 

"The  great  five-weeks'  revival  meeting  with  the  Southern  evan- 
gelist, Sam.  Jones,  as  the  central  and  animating  figure,  is  over.  The 
finish  was  reached  in  a  veritable  blaze  of  glory  and  without  a  soli- 
tar}'  essential  lacking  to  crown  it  a  magnificent  success.  That  it 
will  pass  into  local  history  bearing  the  stamp  of  success  is  absolutely 
assured ;  and  that  it  will  work  a  pennanent  good  in  the  morals  of  the 
city  is  admitted  by  those  best  capable  of  judging. 

"The  audience  last  night  was  large  enough,  attentive  enough, 
and  sufficiently  responsive  to  please  the  most  exacting  speaker  who 
ever  spoke  religion.  There  must  have  been  fully  nine  thousand 
people  packed  away  in  the  building.     People  stood  along  the  aisles 


Sam  p.  Jones.  215 

■on  the  main  floor,  stood  six  and  seven  deep  on  the  promenade  and 
in  the  gallery,  stood  on  the  stairways,  and,  in  fact,  stood  every- 
where where  it  was  possible  to  stand.  There  was  scarcely  breath- 
ing, much  less  standing-room.  Several  hundred  people  remained 
in  the  building  from  the  afternoon  service,  and  by  six  o'clock  nearly 
every  seat  was  occupied.  By  half-past  six  people  were  standing, 
and  fifteen  minutes  later  the  entrance  doors  were  closed,  and  no 
more  people  were  admitted.  At  seven  o'clock  there  must  have  been 
five  thousand  people  massed  along  State  and  Twenty-fourth  streets, 
half  of  them  under  the  impression  that  the  doors  had  not  yet  been 
opened,  and  the  other  half  believing  that,  through  some  providen- 
tial circumstances  they  would  be  able  to  gain  admittance.  All  the 
cars  going  north  and  south  from  the  Rink  were  as  thoroughly 
packed  as  if  the  meeting  had  just  been  dismissed,  and  entirely  by 
people  who  had  despaired  of  getting  into  the  Casino.  A  careful 
estimate  places  the  number  of  people  turned  away  at  about  ten  thou- 
sand, really  a  greater  throng  than  was  able  tO'  hear  the  last  sermon 
of  this  series  of  revival  meetings. 

"The  sermon  was  of  a  difi^erent  character  than  those  usually 
delivered  by  Sam  Jones  in  the  presence  of  large  crowds,  and  there 
was  little  in  it  to  excite 'the  levity  of  those  present.  It  was  decid- 
edly theological  and  abounded  in  the  pathetic, 

"The  meetings  in  the  Casino  during  the  past  five  weeks  have 
l>een  attended  by  nearly  two  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  persons, 
all  of  whom  have  been  handled  without  trouble,  disturbance  or 
accident  of  any  kind. 

"The  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  Scudder  presided.  Bishop  Merrill  occu- 
pied a  chair  by  his  side.  The  choir  began  its  work  at  six  o'clock, 
and  there  was  an  alternation  of  singing  and  praying  until  seven- 
fifteen.  Mr.  Jones  then  preached  upon,  'Her  Ways  are  Ways  of 
Pleasantness.'  He  described  it  as  a  way  of  light,  of  good  things, 
of  happiness,  a  way  that  seemed  short,  because  the  way  was  made 
in  good  company.  After  the  sennon,  he  took  Dr.  Scudder's  hand 
and  led  him  to  the  front  of  the  rostrum,  saying : 

"  'I  want  to  take  the  hand  of  Dr.  Scudder,  one  of  your  noble 
preachers,  and  I  want  his  hand  to  represent  yours.     I  want  every 


216  Sam  P.  Jonks. 

one  of  you  to  consider  your  hand  in  mine.  I  want  to  thank  you 
all  from  the  depths  of  my  soul  for  your  kindness  and  consideration 
for  me.' 

"Dr.  Scudder  placed  his  arm  aroimd  Mr.  Jones's  neck  and  asked 
the  blessings  of  God  to  accompany  him  on  his  way  and  to  prosper 
him  in  his  work.  The  great  audience  applauded  vigorously.  Half 
an  hour  was  spent  with  about  a  hundred  penitents  in  the  inquiry 
room.     Thus  closed  the  great  meeting  in  Chicago." 


CHAPTER   XX. 


Th^   Bai^timore  Awakening.    • 

After  leaving  Chicago,  the  next  meeting  that  was  held  in  a  large 
city  was  in  Baltimore.  Mr.  Jones  visited  some  smaller  cities  in 
the  South  between  the  close  of  the  Chicago  work  and  the  opening 
of  the  revival  in  the  Monumental  City.  Some  of  these  meetings 
were  held  in  Mississippi,  and  the  results  were  gratifying.  Perhaps 
the  last  one  just  before  going  to  Baltimore  was  the  greatest  of 
them  all,  and  was  conducted  in  Columbus,  Miss.  As  a  result  of  a 
ten-days'  meeting,  the  entire  city  and  surrounding  community  was 
mightily  stirred. 

In  Baltimore,  some  of  the  prominent  citizens  and  the  Ministerial 
Alliance  had  talked  of  his  coming  for  a  year  and  a  half.  The  first 
of  the  year  a  petition  signed  by  the  pastors  of  six  denominations, 
and  a  committee  of  very  prominent  laymen,  headed  by  Dr.  James 
Carey,  Thomas  and  Mr.  O.  L.  Rhodes,  was  sent  to  Mr.  Jones.  He 
accepted  the  invitation,  and  when  the  public  annoimcement  was 
made,  it  contained  the  names  of  twenty-seven  prominent  ministers, 
and  a  number  of  leading  laymen,  including  Dr.  Frank  Gunsaulus, 
Dr.  A.  C.  Dixon,  Hon.  Joshua  Levering,  and  many  other  influen- 
tial men.    The  churches  and  ministry  were  a  unit  in  inviting  him. 

The  financial  committee  urged  Mr.  Jones  very  strongly  to  set 
a  price  for  his  services,  but  he  gave  them  to  distinctly  understand 
that  if  his  visit  depended  upon  making  a  contract  he  would  not 
under  any  circumstances  consider  the  invitation.  He  had  never 
made  a  contract  for  remuneration  for  his  services,  and  was  very 
explicit  in  his  correspondence  regarding  this  matter.  We  find  a 
letter  bearing  on  this  subject  addressed  to  the  chairman  of  the 
executive  committee.     He  said : 

'"Now,  as  you  press  the  matter  upon  me  as  to  compensation,  I 

(217) 


218  Sam  P.  Jones. 

can  simply  say  that  whatever  is  done  must  be  voluntary  and,  there- 
fore, there  can  be  no  pecuniary  consideration. 

"My  terms  have  invariably  been  about  these:  If  the  brethren 
will  roll  up  their  sleeves  and  pitch  in  and  help  to  win  souls  to  Christ, 
I  will  not  charge  much,  but  if  they  do  not,  I  shall  dig  them  pretty 
hard. 

"I  would  rather  see  ten  thousand  souls  brought  to  Christ  and 
have  to  borrow  money  to'  pay  my  way  home  from  your  city,  than 
to  see  the  cause  of  Christ  not  prosper  and  have  you  pay  me  ten 
thousand  dollars. 

"I  claim  the  promises  in  the  thirty-seventh  Psalm :  'Trust  in  the 
Lord  and  do  good.  So  shalt  thou  dwell  in  the  land  and  verily 
thou  shalt  be  fed.  Delight  thyself  in  the  Lord,  and  He  will  give 
thee  the  desires  of  thine  heart.' 

"Whatever  is  paid  me,  I  only  want  to  know  that  it  is  a  voluntary 
free-will  offering  on  the  part  of  those  contributing  it.  My  faith 
is  strong,  and  I  believe  God  will  give  us  a  great  work  in  Baltimore. 
I  know  you  brethren  are  praying  and  will  do  what  you  can  to  make- 
the  work  a  success,  and  God  is  always  ready,  and  really,  God  is 
calling,  seeking,  hunting  to  find  the  lost." 

The  only  requirement  he  made  was,  that  they  would  select  an 
appropriate  place  for  the  meetings  to  be  held,  and  arrange  a  build- 
ing that  would  seat  four  or  five  thousand  people.  He  expressed 
a  desire,  if  it  was  convenient,  for  them  to-  secure  a  suite  of  rooms 
at  some  good  hotel  near  the  Tabernacle.  This  was  his  preference, 
everything  else  being  equal.  As  his  success  depended  to  a  large 
extent  upon  the  cooperation  and  sympathy  of  the  pastor,  and  the 
people,  he  told  them  that  he  desired  the  hearty  cooperation  of  the 
church  people  of  Baltimore.  He  said  he  did  not  care  so  much  for 
their  endorsement  of  his  style  and  manner,  but  earnestly  desired 
hearty  cooperation.  He  told  them  that  he  had  never  known  any- 
thing but  success,  but  found  it  much  easier  to-  have  a  great  revival 
where  the  people  were  willing  to  work  with  him. 

The  committee  decided  to  accept  the  conditions  as  outlined  by 
him,  and  accepting  the  call,  he  gave  them  May  2,  1886,  as  the  date 
for  his  work  in  Baltimore.     It  was  very  apparent  to  all  observing 


SaxM  p.  Jones.  219 

and  earnest  Christians  that  just  such  a  preacher  as  Mr.  Jones  was 
g-reatly  needed  in  that  city.  Perhaps  the  ministers  and  citizens 
who  had  secured  his  services  saw  this  need  as  it  really  existed.  A 
rather  remarkable  thing  was  that  the  editors  of  the  great  daily 
papers,  including  the  American-Herald  and  Sun,  were  a  unit  on  this 
question.  As  soon  as  his  coming  was  announced,  there  appeared 
lengthy  editorials  as  to  the  moral  condition  and  the  church-life  of 
Baltimore.  These  papers  said  in  substance  that  "Mr.  Jones's  com- 
ing to  the  city  is  good  tidings.  There  is  much  need  of  a  religious 
awakening  in  this  city,  and  if  Mr.  Jones  could  succeed  in  quickening 
the  consciences  and  stirring  the  depths  of  stagnation,  his  mission 
would  bring  great  blessing  to  the  people."  They  ventured  to  give 
Mr.  Jones  a  few  hints  as  to  the  spiritual  needs  of  the  community. 
The  souls  that  stood  most  in  need  of  hi^  words  and  burning  zeal 
-were  not  the  outsiders  exclusively,  but  the  people  that  needed  to  be 
touched  to  the  quick  were  within  the  churches ;  sometimes  even 
vestrymen,  elders,  deacons,  and  stewards,  as  well  as  other  pew- 
holders  and  communicants.  Their  needs  were  all  the  greater, 
because  they  were  not  aware  of  them.  They  made  religion  a  rou- 
tine, a  respectability,  while  their  hearts  were  in  worldliness,  pride 
and  pleasure.  Like  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  of  old,  they  were  not 
what  would  ordinarily  be  called  the  bad  men,  but  were  good  citizens, 
■respecters  of  the  law,  punctilious  in  religious  obsen^ance,  such  as 
prayer  in  public,  tithing  and  making  much  of  ritual.  They  liked 
vto  appear  before  the  eyes  of  the  world  as  the  pillars  of  the  church, 
but  before  the  eye  of  God  they  were  full  of  pride,  and  for  a  pre- 
tense made  long  prayers  while  devouring  widows'  houses.  Such 
miCn  were  sitting  in  the  prominent  pews.  They  prayed  that  Mr. 
Jones  might  smite  through  the  armor  of  selfishness  and  complacency 
and  show  them  their  real  condition,  and  thus  through  the  gates  of 
penitence  lead  them  back  into  spiritual  life  and  show  them  that  God 
-would  receive  them,  if  they  would  come  humbly  and  submissively 
as  little  children  to  the  throne  of  grace. 

The  editors  of  great  daily  papers  were  in  a  position  to  see  the 
;  spiritual  condition  of  a  community,  but  it  is  seldom  that  you  find 
:men  who  were  as  firm  in  their  convictions  and  had  the  courap^e  to 


220  Sam   P.  JoNi;b. 

write  them,  as  the  editors  of  these  Baltimore  papers.  Mr.  Jones, 
upon  his  arrival  in  the  city,  was  quick  to  discover  the  needs  as 
had  been  seen  by  the  citizens,  ministers  and  newspapers. 

No  amount  of  labor  and  expenditure  of  money  was  lacking  in 
preparing  a  suitable  place  in  which  to  hold  the  meetings.  The  com- 
mittee selected  the  Biddle  Street  Rink  and  put  it  in  a  suitable  condi- 
tion for  evangelistic  services.  The  preparations  were  completed  on 
Saturday  before  the  meetings  began.  They  had  prepared  for  the 
accommodation  of  five  thousand  people.  A  wide  row  of  benches 
stretched  from  the  platform  down  to  the  main  doors,  with  rows 
of  benches  on  either  side  within  full  view  of  the  pulpit ;  the  galleries 
on  the  east  and  west  side  of  the  building  were  also  arranged  with 
seats.  In  order  to  protect  the  eyes  of  the  speaker  and  the  people, 
the  electric  lights  were  strung  in  a  row  along  the  wall,  which  gave 
a  pleasant  effect  to  the  eye.  In  front  of  the  building  a  large  electric 
light  hung  on  Biddle  street,  making  it  easy  for  the  great  crowds 
to  gather  and  disperse.  A  very  large  and  well-arranged  platform 
had  been  built  for  the  choir. 

Mr.  O.  L.  Rhodes  had  been  selected  by  the  committee  in  charge 
of  the  meetings  to  meet  Mr.  Jones  in  Washington  and  accompany 
him  to  Baltimore.  Upon  the  arrival  of  the  nine-o'clock  train  at  the 
Baltimore  &  Potomac  depot,  Mr.  Rhodes  met  Mr.  Jones.  They 
strolled  in  the  vicinty  for  about  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  after 
which  they  boarded  the  ten-o'clock  train  for  Baltimore.  Upon  their 
arrival  at  the  Union  Station  about  midnight,  they  were  met  by  Dr. 
P.  C.  Williams,  chairman  of  the  executive  committee,  v/ho  had 
a  carriage  ready  to  take  them  to  the  St.  James  Hotel. 

After  Mr.  Jones  had  registered  and  been  shown  to  his  room, 
a  rap  on  the  door,  and  "Come  in"  by  Mr.  Jones,  introduced  a 
reporter  from  one  of  the  morning  papers.  After  he  had  made  him- 
self known,  Mr.  Jones  said :  "Well,  my  boy,  if  you  have  got  any 
questions  to  ask,  fire  them  quick,  as  I  want  to  climb  into  bed."  The 
reporter  inquired:  "Have  you  yet  mapped  out  a  definite  plan  for 
your  campaign?"  Mr.  Jones  answered:  "As  definite  as  is  possible; 
my  only  plan  is,  'Do  something.'  I  am  going  to  make  things  lively 
for  the  saints  and  sinners  hereabouts."       After  telling  Mr.  Jones 


Sam  p.  Jones.  221 

of  the  spacious  hall  that  had  been  prepared  for  him,  the  reporter 
asked:  "Do  you  think  you  will  be  able  to  fill  it  with  people?"  Mr. 
Jones  replied:  "I'll  fill  the  building  if  its  as  big*  as  all  outdoors." 
Then  he  bade  him  good-night,  and  Mr.  Jones  soon  retired,  and 
Sunday  morning  was  up  early  and  in  fine  condition  for  his  meeting. 
The  opening  service  was  held  in  the  afternoon,  and  two  hours  before 
the  tim^e  for  preaching  the  people  began  to  flock  to  the  auditorium 
until  it  was  full,  and  several  thousand  turned  away.  It  was  esti- 
mated that  no  less  than  eight  thousand  endeavored  to  attend  the 
first  service.  Mr.  Maxwell  had  taken  charge  of  the  large  choir  that 
had  been  organized  and  trained  by  a  local  leader.  A  number  of 
very  spirited  revival  songs  had  been  rendered,  when  i\Ir.  Jones 
reached  the  auditorium.  As  great  crowds  thronged  the  doors  of 
the  Rink,  it  was  necessary  for  Mr.  Jones  to  enter  the  building 
through  the  inquiry  room.  Just  as  soon  as  he  made  his  appear- 
ance the  great  audience  recognized  him,  and  there  was  a  whisper, 
"There  he  is,"  which  was  taken  up  by  one  after  another  until  the 
great  audience  had  its  attention  drawn  to  him.  He  threaded  his 
way  through  the  large  body  of  men  on  the  stage,  and  walked  out 
upon  a  small  platform  erected  especially  for  him,  and  seated  himself 
in  a  large  old-fashioned  armchair.  The  large  choir  sang  a  special 
song  that  had  been  written  for  the  occasion.  The  title  of  it  was 
"Welcome  Song."  The  words  had  been  composed  by  Professor 
John  D.  Robinson,  and  the  music  by  Professor  Harry  Sanders, 
both  of  that  city.  The  following  words  were  sung  in  a  very  enthu- 
siastic and  whole-sooiled  manner : 

"Oh,  man  of  God,  we  Vv^elcome  you  in  Christ  the  Saviour's  name. 
And  pray  that  all  your  labors  here  may  glorious  fruitings  bring; 

With  loving  heart  and  tuneful  voice  we  raise  this  lofty  strain. 
And  greet  you  as  the  messenger  of  Christ  the  Lord  and  King. 

REP'RAIN. 

"We  welcome  you  with  hearts  aglow,  we  welcome  you  with  song, 
And  gather  here  our  love  to  show,  with  faith  and  hope  both  strong. 


222  Sam  P.  Jones. 

^'Thy  labors  so  abundant  have  with  victory  been  crowned 
On  evei*y  sinful  battle-field  where  thou  wert  called  to  lead, 

And  multitudes  rejoice  to-day  who  Christ  the  Saviour  found, 
And  bless  the  chosen  husbandman  who  sowed  the  precious  seed. 

"God  bless  thee  m.ore  abundantly  and  grant  thee  power  divine, 
That  thou  may'st  help  our  people  to  a  higher  Christian  life, 

And  make  the  g"ospel  trumpet  sound  in  strains  of  joy  sublime, 
And  lead  us  forth  to  victory  o'er  sin  and  woe  and  strife. 

"And  may  an  influence  great  and  strong  flow  from  thy  presence  here, 
To  bless  the  coming  ages  with  a  purifying  stream; 

And  Christ  the  Lord  be  magnified  each  Christian  heart  to  cheer. 
As   light  from  Gospel  truth   shall  shine   with  heaven's   radiant 
gleam." 

When  Mr.  Jones  was  introduced  and  arose  to  address  the  people, 
his  prophecy  to  fill  the  buildings  was  more  than  fulfilled.  The  Rink 
was  packed  and  jammed  from  the  platform  to  the  door,  and  the 
aisles  thick  with  people,  while  several  thousands  were  clamoring  on 
the  outside  for  admittance.  In  the  rear  of  him  sat  the  members  of 
the  executive  committee  and  the  ministers  of  the  city,  with  a  large 
choir,  and  a  corps  of  earnest  personal  workers.  It  was  a  crowd 
that  had  come  from  all  parts  of  the  city  representing  eveiy  denomi- 
nation, and  all  classes  of  non-church-going  people.  Such  religious 
enthusiasm  had  inflamed  with  fervor  even  those  who  had  been  actu- 
ated by  mere  curiosity.  It  was  unlike  any  other  ever  witnessed  in 
Baltimore.  There  were  the  gray-haired  men,  most  of  them  evidently 
from  various  churches,  and  there  were  hundreds  of  young  men  who 
attended  no  church,  and  many  of  the  society  people  could  be  located 
in  different  parts  of  the  building.  The  v/orkingmen,  their  wives 
and  children  sat  along  the  side  with  the  lawyers,  physicians,  mer- 
chants, capitalists  and  other  richly-dressed  men  and  women.  Chris- 
tians and  infidels  were  both  eag'er  to  catch  his  first  utterance. 

The  perfect  arrangement  of  the  building  gave  every  one  an  ex- 
cellent opportunity  to  see  the  speaker.     Dr.  A.  C.  Dixon  had  intro- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  223 

duced  him  in  a  brief  speech,  and  earnestly  besought  the  prayers  of 
the  Christian  people  in  behalf  of  a  great  revival. 

Mr.  Jones,  standing  before  the  people,  did  not  look  like  a  clerg}-- 
men,  as  he  was  dressed  in  a  business  suit.  He  held  in  his  hand  a 
small  Bible,  and  finding  his  text,  he  began  his  work  in  earnest.  It 
took  him  but  a  moment  to  throw  the  power  of  his  personality  into 
his  message,  and  with  his  indefinable  magnetism  soon  had  the  audi- 
ence under  his  control.  He  preached  one  of  his  most  polished  and 
magnificent  sermons,  which  resulted  in  a  deep  impression  at  the 
first  service.  The  people  went  away  greatly  moved  by  the  spiritual 
power  manifested. 

In  the  evening  more  people  sought  to  hear  him  than  at  the  after- 
noon service.  He  changed  his  style  somewhat,  and  preached  one  of 
his  humorous,  pathetic  and  stirring  addresses.  The  first  day  of  the 
great  campaign  had  made  a  favorable  impression  upon  all  classes  of 
people.  He  recognized  that  the  day  services  would  be  conducted  in 
the  churches,  and  a  noonday  service  would  be  held  for  the  business 
men  at  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Hall.  Preaching  for  the  first  week  was 
directed  to  the  church-members;  however,  the  unsaved  turned  to 
Christ  in  great  numbers,  and  at  the  close  of  the  first  week's  service 
many  had  been  happily  converted.  A  great  deal  of  interest  and 
curiosity  had  been  manifested  throughout  the  city  in  Mr.  Jones,  in 
the  way  he  spent  his  time  between  the  services.  A  reporter  of  the 
Herald  called  upon  him  at  his  room  to  interview  him  on  the  subject. 
He  found  Mr.  Jones  and  his  assistant,  chorister  and  secretary  spend- 
ing their  rest  hours  in  a  very  simple  way.  The  interview  followed : 
"Mr.  Jones,"  said  the  reporter,  "does  nothing  especially  to  distin- 
guish himself  from  the  other  guests  of  the  hotel.  He  arises  usually 
at  seven  o'clock  and  has  his  co-workers  to  join  him  in  a  word  of 
prayer,  seeking  the  guidance  of  God  for  the  day,  and  then  repairs 
to  breakfast,  where  his  favorite  dish  is  oatmeal  and  cream.  He  is 
especially  fond  of  fruit,  and  likes  a  lemonade  or  a  cup  of  coffee. 
After  a  very  light  breakfast  he  returns  to  his  room  and  looks 
through  his  letters,  which  accumulate  at  the  rate  of  fifty  a  day.  He 
is  never  so  busy  but  what  he  writes  to  his  wife  daily,  and  she  knows 
where  he  is  and  what  he  is  doing  each  day.     He  spends  some  time 


224  Sam  P.  Jones. 

in  reading,  which  led  the  reporter  to  ask,  'What  are  your  favorite 
authors?'  The  evangeHst  reph'ed,  'My  library  is  a  very  choice  and 
carefully  selected  one.  I  use  books  like  the  mechanic  uses  the  grind- 
stone to  sharpen  his  tools  on.  Whenever  I  go  away  from  home  I 
pack  a  few  of  my  favorite  books  in  my  valise  and  read  as  I  have 
occasion,  while  I  am  gone.'  'Do  you  like  poetry?'  inquired  the  in- 
terviewer. 'There  is  but  one  poet  for  me,  that  is  Burns,'  then  Mr. 
Jones  proceeded  to  quote  Burns  with  spirit  and  feeling." 


CHAPTER   XXL 


Thi:  BaIvTimori:  x-Vwakening  (Continued). 

The  meeting  had  been  running  smoothly  from  the  beginning, 
with  every  kind  of  encouragement.  As  the  time  became  more  pro- 
pitious, Mr.  Jones  began  to  denounce  the  wrongs  and  sins  of  the 
city  more  strongly.  The  society  element,  which  was  so  prominent 
in  Baltimore,  received  special  attention  at  his  hands.  This  called 
forth  much  criticism  and  resentment.  He  continued  to  discuss  their 
foibles  and  superficiality,  ridiculing  and  pointing  out  the  emptiness 
of  such  a  life.  Card-playing,  theater-going  and  dancing  v/ere  the 
subjects  for  many  remarks,  and  the  ground  for  many  earnest  pleas. 
Considerable  inroads  were  made  on  the  society  people,  and  they  be- 
came interested  in  their  salvation,  and  many  were  brought  to  God 
during  the  meeting. 

His  fearful  arraignment  of  the  liquor  traffic  and  the  other  vices 
and  sins  caused  the  people  to  be  divided  in  their  opinions.  Con- 
siderable opposition  was  manifested  on  the  part  of  the  society  mem- 
bers and  managers  of  gambling-dens.  Some  of  the  worldly  church- 
members,  including  some  preachers,  could  not  endorse  all  that  he 
said  against  the  saloon.  The  majority,  however,  including  the  most 
earnest  reporters,  were  enthusiastic  in  their  praise,  declaring  that  he 
was  right,  while  some  of  the  worldly  and  irreligious  church-mem- 
bers, with  those  who  took  no  interest  in  religion,  discussed  him  in 
harsh  and  bitter  terms.  Dr.  Kircus,  one  of  the  prominent  Episcopal 
rectors,  joined  in  with  the  foes  of  the  work  and  wrote  very  bitterly 
against  him  through  the  daily  press.  Mr.  Jones  was  not  ritualistic 
enough  to  please  the  high  churchmen,  who  indulged  in  the  very 
things  that  Mr.  Jones  had  denounced.  A  paper  said :  "Mr.  Jones 
denounces  the  liquor  traffic,  which  Dr.  Kircus  defends.  He  de- 
nounces the  theaters,  which  Dr.  Kircus  admires  and  attends.     He 

(225) 


226  Sam  P.  Jones. 

denounces  the  germans,  in  which  Dr.  Kircus  finds  repose  and  ec- 
stasy, after  the  fastings  and  humiHations  of  Lent.  He  preaches 
Christ,  while  Dr.  Kircus  is  content  with  St.  Michael  and  all  angels. 
Hence,  the  shoe  pinches  so  hard  that  the  critic  walks  lame." 

After  reading  this  description  of  Dr.  Kircus,  Mr.  Jones  in  his- 
preliminary  remarks  at  the  evening  service,  said :  "Who  is  this 
preacher  that  is  denouncing  me  in  this  city  ?"  A  friend  replied : 
"Why,  he  is  the  man  that  the  liquor  people  got  to  deliver  a  lecture, 
and  paid  him  for  it."  [Smiles.]  "Well,"  continued  Mr.  Jones,  "I 
am  glad  I  know  why  he  opposes  me;  it's  always  the  hit  dog  that 
howls.  [Laughter.]  He  also  says  that  I  am  not  an  accredited 
minister  of  the  gospel.  Well,  I  just  want  to  say  that  I  am  an  or- 
dained minister,  and  a  member  of  the  North  Georgia  Conference, 
and  my  ordination  is  as  good  as  anybody's.  I  came  to  Baltimore 
because  the  leading  ministers  and  laymen  invited  me.  When  you 
hear  people  discussing  the  revival,  and  some  fellow  asks,  'Have  you 
been  around  to  hear  Sam  Jones?'  and  he  replies,  'No,  I  don't  en- 
dorse him,'  now,  look  here,"  said  Mr.  Jones,  "I  don't  want  you  to 
endorse  me.  [Laughter.]  Your  endorsement  if  it  was  written  out 
wouldn't  be  any  good.  [Laughter.]  I  won't  endorse  myself,  but 
I  do  want  God  to  endorse  me,  and  I  want  you  all  to  cooperate  with 
me.  No  man  wants  to  go  to  heaven  more  than  I  do,  and  if  I  don't 
go  to  heaven,  friends,  I  tell  you  now  I  will  turn  and  walk  away 
from  the  gates  of  pearl  the  most  disappointed  man  in  the  universe." 
These  preliminary  remarks  had  given  the  death-blow  to  the  criti- 
cism and  opposition,  and  the  great  audience  was  brought  into  closer 
sympathy  and  more  hearty  cooperation  with  Mr.  Jones.  In  a  great 
many  of  the  pulpits  on  the  following  Sabbath  morning  the  promi- 
nent evangelistical  ministers  of  the  city  preached  on  the  great  re- 
vival in  progress.  Many  of  them  told  their  people  that  Mr.  Jones 
was  exactly  right  in  all  he  said,  and  deplored  the  fact  that  they  had 
not  been  more  fearless  in  their  preaching.  One  of  them  said :  "If 
the  two  or  three  hundred  preachers  in  Baltimore  were  more  like 
Sam  Jones  we  would  have  pure  churches  and  less  of  the  evil  social 
features  of  the  city.  I  am  ashamed  that  I  haven't  been  more  like 
Sam  Jones  in  my  attitude  towards  the  worldliness  and  wickedness 
of  Baltimore." 


Sam  p.  Jones.  227 

In  view  of  the  extraordinary  interest  which  the  community  had 
manifested  in  the  meeting,  and  deeming  it  a  matter  of  uncommon 
pubhc  interest,  one  of  the  daily  papers  gathered  and  pubhshed 
opinions  and  views  of  many  of  the  leading  citizens  as  to  the  char- 
acter of  work  being  accomplished  by  Mr.  Jones.  In  the  large  num- 
ber of  expressed  opinions  there  was  found  the  names  of  many  emi- 
nent ecclesiastical  judges  and  lawyers,  professors,  physicians,  mer- 
chants, business  men,  and  private  citizens. 

Dr.  Andrew  Longacre,  Mount  Vernon  M.  E.  church :  "Of  course 
I  am  in  full  sympathy  with  Mr.  Jones." 

Rev.  W.  M.  H.  McAllister,  St.  John's  Independent  Alethodist 
church  :   "I  am  with  Sam  Jones." 

Rev.  Milard  J.  Lowe,  EpAvorth  Independent  Alethodist  church : 
"I  know  Mr.  Jones,  and  he  will  do  great' work  here.  He  will  get 
hold  of  the  masses  and  do  the  churches  good." 

Rev.  A.  C.  Dixon,  Emanuel  Baptist  church :  "I  am  in  thorough 
sympathy  with  the  work  engaged  in  by  the  evangelist.  He  is  an  ef- 
fective talker,  and  will  do  much  good.  You  can  not  draw  a  parallel 
between  Moody  and  Jones.  They  are  utterly  unlike.  Moody  knew 
a  thing,  but  not  from  personal  experience,  and  Jones  does." 

Rev.  W.  F.  Gunsaules,  Brown  Memorial  Presbyterian  church : 
"I  am  in  sympathy  with  whatever  works  good.  I  think  there  is  go- 
ing to  be  a  great  work  done  here.  Mr.  Jones  will  be  master  of  the 
situation." 

Mr.  H.  T.  Maloney,  clerk  of  the  United  States  Court :  "^Ir.  Jones 
is  an  extraordinary  man.  His  noyel  style  has  set  church-members 
to  thinking,  and  induced  the  masses  to  discuss  the  subject  of  relig- 
ion.    Plis  sermons  will  be  productive  of  good  in  Baltimore." 

Judge  H.  Glay  Dalian :  "I  went  to  hear  Sam  Jones  thinking  that 
I  would  not  like  him,  but  I  was  favorably  impressed." 

Ex-Mayor  Ferdinand  C.  Latrobe :  "I  am  afraid  to  hear  Sam 
Jones ;  I  would  like  to  see  him  and  Bob  Ingersoll  matched." 

Hon.  Thomas  G.  Hayes,  United  States  District  Attorney :  "He 
is  One  of  the  smartest  men  I  ever  heard.  I  like  him ;  as  he  says,  'the 
fellow  that  takes  him  for  a  fool  will  get  left.'  I  consider  him  a  well 
educated  man." 


228  Sam  P,  Jon^s. 

Following  the  estimates  of  the  prominent  men,  there  appeared  a 
very  striking  one  from  an  editor :  "Sam  Jones  is  a  man  of  strong 
character,  and  therefore  sure  to  find  warm  advocates  or  bitter  op- 
ponents, and  as  he  never  fails  to  'speak  out  in  meeting,'  no  man 
has  any  difficulty  in  making  up  his  mind  as  to  whether  he  is  pleased 
or  annoyed  by  hits,  in  which  the  evangelist  delights  to  indulge. 
One  thing  can  not  be  gainsaid.  The  impression  produced  has  been 
very  powerful,  and  the  prediction  that  the  mission-meeting  would 
be  a  nine-day  wonder  is  falsified  by  the  fact  that  at  the  end  of  the 
second  week  the  rush  to  the  evening  meetings  is  more  eager  than 
ever.  The  revival  has  been  the  greatest  religious  event  which  this 
city  has  ever  known.  At  first,  no  doubt  the  throngs  were  attracted 
to  the  meetings  by  the  fame  of  the  evangelist.  His  style  and  sayings 
have  proved  factors  in  drawing  crowds,  but  even  when  Mr.  Jones 
would  announce  that  he  would  disrobe  his  sermons  of  wit,  humor 
and  jokes,  and  would  preach  the  next  time  in  a  serious  vein,  his 
audiences  did  not  fall  off;  all  the  available  space  was  occupied  at 
eveiy  service. 

"The  character  of  the  audiences  has  been  as  remarkable  as  the 
sermons  preached  before  them.  One  has  only  to  place  himself  at 
the  door  of  the  Rink  and  scan  the  dress  and  faces  of  those  who 
enter  its  doors  to  satisfy  himself  that  the  congregation  was  made 
up  of  the  better  classes  of  the  community.  Sober,  respectable, 
thoughtful  people,  both  old  and  young,  have  been  constant  in  their 
attendance.  Whether  in  the  church  or  out  of  it,  it  has  been  Balti- 
more's representative  people  who  have  attended  the  services.  lii 
view  of  the  conservative  and  unexcitable  nature  of  our  people,  it  was 
thought  that  the  peculiar  methods  of  Mr.  Jones  would  not  be  crown- 
ed with  the  same  success  as  in  Cincinnati,  Chicago,  and  other  places. 
The  results  thus  far  go  to  show  that  these  calculations  were  mis- 
placed, for  the  meetings  have  been  as  continuously  enthusiastic  and 
as  numerously  attended  as  those  at  any  other  point.  The  fact  that 
nearly  five  hundred  people  have  professed  conversion,  and  that  one 
thousand  have  asked  for  prayer,  furnishes  irrefutable  testimony  of 
the  power  and  influences  exerted  by  the  meeting." 

In  Mr.  Jones's  sympathy  for  the  unfortunate  and  outcast,  he 


Sam  p.  Jones.  229 

preached  in  the  penitentiary  before  a  most  attentive  audience  of  con- 
victs. He  showed  how  tenderly  he  felt  toward  the  criminal  in  the 
selection  of  his  text,  which  was  taken  from  Matthew  11:28: 
"Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden  and  I  will  give 
you  rest."  He  told  them  that  tl:^  Saviour  understood  all  of  their 
troubles,  and  prescribed  for  them  as  the  great  physician  of  the  soul ; 
that  the  Lord  Jesus  was  the  one  friend  that  would  never  go  back  on 
them.  He  said  perhaps  the  worst  man  in  Maryland  was  not  in  the 
penitentiary.  "There  are  a  good  many  in  Baltimore  who  ought  to  be 
here  with  you.  I  never  see  a  man  in  striped  clothes  without  think- 
ing but  for  the  grace  of  God,  old  fellow,  you'd  be  in  striped  clothes 
yourself,  or  mighty  near  it.  However,  if  you  will  come  to  God, 
there  will  be  no  striped  clothes  up  yonder — but  you  all  may  have 
robes  of  shining  white."  He  spoke  to  them'  of  how  the  devil  had 
enslaved  them.  Turning  to  the  colored  men  he  said :  "Millions  of 
you  fellows  kicked  up  your  heels  when  Abraham  Lincoln  set  you 
free — well,  you  ain't  free  now,  are  you?  [Laughter.]  I'll  tell  you 
who  can  set  you  free,  and  keep  you  free,  and  that  is  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  They  could  put  John  Bunyan  in  jail,  but  he  was  free  there. 
When  he  wrote  his  'Pilgrim's  Progress'  he  was  the  freest  man  in  the 
world.  Christ  promises  also  to  give  you  rest.  Some  of  you  have  at 
home  as  good  a  wife  as  any  man  ever  had,  and  her  heart  has  been 
aching  ever  since  you  have  been  here.  Some  of  you  have  beautiful 
daughters;  some  of  you  sisters  and  brothers;  every  boy  has  a 
mother  living  or  dead.  Precious  old  mother  and  good  wife  have 
been  praying  God  to  sanctify  this  imprisonment  to  your  salvation. 
I  hope  you  will  come  to  Christ  and  let  Him  give  you  rest.  So  live 
the  Christian  life  from  this  day  forth  that  the  Governor  will  pardon 
many  of  you  before  your  terms  expire,  and  send  you  out  Christians ; 
but  if  he  don't,  be  a  Christian  anyhow.  I'd  rather  be  a  Christian 
in  the  penitentiary  than  a  sinner  outside." 

A  great  deal  was  said  and  written  about  the  eccentricities  of  Mr. 
Jones.    He  made  reply  as  follows : 

"You  needn't  bother  about  my  eccentricities ;  I  only  put  them  on 
to  get  you  here.  A  Baltimore  minister  said  to  me :  'Jones,  I  can't 
get  a  congregation.'     'Why,'  I  said,  'just  get  a  lot  of  earthenware 


^30  Sam  P.  Jones. 

poodle  dogs,  stick  them  in  the  pews  of  your  church  and  I'h  warrant 
the  place  will  be  jammed  ;  get  'em  to  come,  and  then  win  souls  to 
Christ.'  An  old  London  preacher  gave  out  that  he  would  kick  in  one 
of  the  panels  of  his  pulpit.  Crowds  assembled  at  an  early  hour  and 
filled  the  church  to  overflowing.  The  minister  kicked  in  the  panel 
for  them,  but  he  converted  a  big  lot  of  them.  Some  person  said : 
'Have  you  been  out  to  hear  Sam  Jones  ?'  'No,  I  don't  like  the  way 
that  man  goes  on,'  was  the  reply.  Do  tell  me  how  it  is  that  Chris- 
tians can  look  on  at  a  battle  between  the  good  and  sin  and  not  be 
mo^'ed;  just  because  they  don't  like  the  crack  of  my  rifle  they  refuse 
to  take  any  part  in  the  fight.  If  a  Newfoundland  dog  came  to  my 
town  fully  accredited  that  he  had  won  souls  tO'  Christ  I'd  take  him 
and  keep  him.  I  am  ready  to  change  myself  if  any  fellow  gives  me  a 
method  to  catch  more  fish.  As  long  as  God  gives  me  a  string  of  fish 
I  don't  care  what  they  say  about  my  pole  and  hook." 

He  created  much  laughter  while  defending  his  eccentricities. 

The  work  in  Baltimore  was.  rapidly  coming  to  a  close,  and  there 
appeared  an  editorial  in  the  Herald  as  to  the  results  of  the  meeting. 
The  paper  said :  "His  ministry  in  Baltimore  will  have  lasted  exactly 
four  weeks,  and  our  people  have  had  ample  time  to  form  a  correct 
opinion  as  to  the  substantial  good  that  will  result  from  his-  work. 

"It  must  be  conceded  that  before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Jones  there 
was  much  distrust  as  to  the  effectiveness  of  his  method,  and  the  per- 
manency of  his  work;  however,  at  the  first  service  there  were  over 
three  thousand  turned  away,  and  the  throngs  increased  from  day  to 
day,  and  the  work  more  permanent  than  at  the  beginning.  Thou- 
sands have  professed  conversion.  Alany  came  to  see  Mr.  Jones  from 
mere  motives  of  curiosity,  and  for  the  first  time  in  their  lives  were 
stirred  with  religious  emotions.  Scores  of  the  worst  sinners  in  the 
community  were  made  to  see  the  error  of  their  ways,  and  to  declare 
that  henceforth  they  would  lead  Christian  lives.  Will  these  conver- 
sions last?  This  is  indeed  a  serious  cjuestion,  and  one  that  time  alone 
can  answer.  Doubtless  a  large  percentage  of  them  will  endure,  but 
there  is  another  view.  Wt  have  the  testimony  of  the  Protestant 
ministers  at  large  that  there  has  been  a  general  religious  awakening. 
The  enthusiasm  of  Mr.  Jones  has  inspired  other  ministers  to  fresh 


Sam  p.  Jones.  231 

efforts  among  their  own  particular  congregations,  and  the  increased 
church  attendance  has  already  become  apparent.  If,  in  addition  to 
calling  thousands  to  repentance,  he  has  aroused  the  Christian  spirit 
of  the  community,  he  has  doubly  won  the  thanks  of  the  people." 

As  to  the  results  of  the  work,  Mr.  Jones  preached  about  one  hun- 
dred times  during  the  meetings.  All  of  these  sermons  were  pub- 
lished in  the  Sun  and  other  papers.  The  number  of  persons  who  at- 
tended the  meetings  were  estimated  from  two  hundred  and  thirtv 
thousand  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand.  It  is  thought  that  not 
less  than  twenty-five  hundred  openly  professed  conversion,  while 
thousands  of  others  had  their  hearts  and  minds  touched,  and  were- 
made  better  men  and  women.  Mr.  Jones  said  in  closing  the  serv- 
ice :  "It  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  me  to  w^ork  with  you.  My 
visit  has  been  made  especially  delightful,  because  I  have  worked 
under  the  direction  of  the  best  committee  I  ever  saw.  Whenever 
you  get  up  a  big  religious  revival  in  this  city  put  Dr.  P.  C.  Williams 
at  the  head  of  it.  I  never  met  a  purer,  nobler,  grander  Christian 
man  than  he.  May  God  bless  him  and  also  the  noble  preachers  of 
Baltimore,  fifty  or  sixty  of  whom  have  been  with  me.  The  churches- 
were  never  more  united  than  they  have  been  during  these  meetings. 
I  want  to  thank  the  ushers,  too.  To  do  their  duty  while  being  mis- 
understood leaves  no  room  to  doubt  their  piety.  I  want  them  to  or- 
ganize as  the  ushers  did  after  the  Moody  meetings,  so  as  to  aid  in 
preventing  any  of  the  converts  from  going  back  to  their  old  ways. 
May  God  bless  the  newspapers  of  Baltimore,  from  the  editors  to  the 
reporters,  for  they  have  done  their  part  of  the  work  well,  and  to 
make  it  comprehensive,  may  God  bless  you  all.  I  hope  to  meet  you 
all  up  yonder  where  congregations  ne'er  break  up." 

Mr.  Jones  visited  Baltimore  a  second  time,  and  held  a  great  meet- 
ing in  the  Music  Hall.  While  on  this  visit  he  not  only  succeeded  in 
getting  people  saved,  but  made  a  strong  plea  for  temperance,  and 
aided  in  raising  money  for  worthy  causes,  such  as  the  Florence- 
Crittenton  Home.  He  preached  for  a  number  of  years  at  Emor-,^ 
Grove  camp-meeting,  near  Baltimore,  and  the  Baltimore  people- 
heard  him  in  great  numbers.  During  his  last  visit  he  was  called 
home  by  the  death  of  my  mother.     There  were  fully  ten  thousand 


232  Sam  P.  Jones. 

people  at  the  campHmeeting  to  hear  him  that  day.  Excursions  had 
been  run  in  from  several  directions,  and  the  grounds  were  covered 
with  earnest  admirers.  All  available  space  for  teams  and  carriages 
and  horses  was  taken  up,  and  the  campground  presented  a  scene 
unlike  any  other  in  its  history. 

Just  after  preaching  in  the  afternoon  he  received  a  telegram  an- 
nouncing the  death  of  my  mother,  Mrs.  C.  A.  McElwain,  at  her 
home  near  Eminence,  Ky.  It  was  a  severe  shock  to  him,  as  the 
deepest  love  had  existed  between  my  mother  and  Mr.  Jones.  While 
waiting  for  a  telegram  from  me,  he  preached  again  in  the  evening  to 
an  immense  throng,  from  Psalm  55:18:  "Cast  thy  burden  upon 
the  Lord,  and  He  shall  sustain  thee."  With  his  heart  aching,  he 
stood  there  and  directed  the  minds  of  the  people  to  the  great  burden- 
bearer,  and  with  them  laid  his  burden  upon  the  Lord. 

My  health  was  very  critical  also  at  that  time,  which  brought  addi- 
tional suffering  to  his  bleeding  heart.  He  said  in  closing :  "It  may 
be  that  I  will  never  lift  my  voice  here  again;  I  wish  from  the  depths 
of  my  soul  to  thank  you  for  your  sympathies  for  me  and  my  sick 
wife,  and  those  of  us  who  are  in  great  sorrow.  I  do  not  believe  God 
will  allow  his  faithful  ones  to  be  overcome  by  their  burdens.  On  the 
sea  of  life,  the  old  ship  of  Zion  will  ply  its  way  to  every  frail  little 
bark,  and  when  the  waves  of  trouble  overlap  us,  our  blessed  Christ 
stands  on  the  bulwarks  and  says:  'Cast  thy  burden  upon  the  Lord,' 
and  the  weight  that  overloads  us  will  not  sink  our  vessel  the  one- 
hundredth  part  of  an  inch.  Blessed  be  God  for  a  great  burden - 
bearer."  , 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


INDIANAPOI.IS,  St.  Paul  and  MinneapoIvIS. 

At  the  close  of  the  meetings  in  Baltimore,  Mr.  Jones  was  called 
home  to  Cartersville,  where  three  of  his  children  were  ill.  Upon  his 
arrival  there,  however,  he  found  that  they  were  not  dangerously 
sick,  and  was  detained  only  a  few  days.  Assured  by  his  physician 
that  his  loved  ones  were  improving,  he  left  as  soon  as  possible  for 
his  next  engagement,  which  was  at  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

The  evangelist  arrived  in  Indianapolis,  on  the  evening  of  June  12, 
1886,  and  was  met  by  his  co-workers,  who  had  preceded  him  to  the 
city,  and  had  gotten  the  meeting  under  way  during  his  stay  at  Car- 
tersville. 

His  coming  had  been  given  due  prominence  in  the  Indianapolis 
papers,  and,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  they  were  kindly  disposed 
toward  him  and  his  work.  A  great  deal  of  space  was  given  to  the 
reports  of  his  sermons  and  meetings,  and  he  was  treated  with  fair- 
ness, editorially.  To  say  the  least  of  it,  he  was  not  antagonized  to 
any  large  extent  by  the  secular  press  of  the  city. 

The  ministers  of  the  Protestant  churches  had  united  almost  com- 
pletely in  the  invitation  to  visit  Indianapolis,  and  he  was  greatly 
pleased  with  the  earnest  cooperation  that  was  given  him  from  this 
source. 

As  in  every  place  he  had  visited  for  years  since  he  had  become  a 
national  character,  Mr.  Jones  had  his  critics  before  and  after  his 
arrival. 

He  was  beset  on  every  side  by  the  card-writers,  who  felt  it  their 
duty  to  enlighten  the  people  in  regard  to  the  evangelist.  Most  of  his 
critics  wrote  as  though  they  had  discovered  Sam  Jones  and  warned 
the  people  against  him  as  though  his  worth  and  works  had  never 
been  demonstrated  at  other  places.    It  was  a  curious  fact  that  these 

(233) 


■234  Sam  P.  Jones. 

writers  seemed  always  to  feel  impelled  to  protect  their  respective 
-cities  against  the  evils  that  they  thought  would  come  through  a  visit 
from  Sam  Jones. 

It  was  not  the  custom  of  Mr.  Jones  to  refer  to  this  kind  of  nui- 
sance, except  when  something  was  said  that  misrepresented  him,  or 
something  that  would  injure  the  cause.  He  cared  little  for  personal 
opinions  of  men,  and  rarely  noticed  anything  that  was  said  against 
him.  But  when  he  was  made  by  the  card-writers  to  say  something 
that  he  had  never  said,  and  saw  that  his  work  would  be  injured 
unless  he  corrected  the  same,  he  would  usually  devote  a  few  moments 
before  or  after  a  sermon  to  score  those  who  had  misrepresented  him. 

One  of  the  cards  which  greatly  incensed  Mr.  Jooes  was  a  clipping 
taken  from  a  New  York  paper,  and  enlarged  upon  in  the  Indianapo- 
lis Journal.  The  Journal  had  been  printing  everything  it  could 
gather  that  was  calculated  to  injure  and  annoy  Mr.  Jones,  but  had 
succeeded  in  attracting  little  notice  from  him.  This  card,  however, 
was  such  a  palpable  falsehood  that  it  brought  Mr.  Jones  to  his  feet 
with  the  following : 

"I  saw  the  biggest,  meanest  lie  in  the  Indianapolis  Journal  this 
morning  that  was  ever  published  on  a  man  or  devil.  It  was  copied 
from  the  Neiv  York  Star,  and  it  said  that  Sam.  Jones  asked  one  thou- 
sand dollars  a  week  for  his  services,  and  three  thousand  dollars  from 
the  people  of  Omaha  before  he  would  consent  to  go  there.  I  never 
made  a  contract  about  going  anywhere  in  my  life,  and  never  said 
anything  about  money.  That  paper  that  said  I  did  laid  itself  liable 
to  a  libel  suit,  for  it  damaged  my  character  as  a  minister.  It  is  a 
scandalous  lie  on  a  man  who  never  made  a  charge  for  his  work  in 
liis  life.  I  wouldn't  go  to  hear  a  preacher  who  would  charge  one 
thousand  dollars  per  week  for  his  work,  or  who  demanded  a  guar- 
antee."    ]\Ir.  Jones  was  roundly  applauded  after  this  statement. 

Mr.  Jones  spoke  first  in  Roberts  Park  church,  but  the  crowd  at 
that  service  was  of  su't'i  proportion  that  it  was  found  necessary  to 
remove  to  Tomlinson  Hail,  a  large,  new  building,  with  a  seating 
capacity  of  more  than  four  thousand  people.  His  first  sermon  was  a 
complete  victory  for  him,  and  it  served  to  disarm  his  critics  and 
those  who  had  opposed  him.     Mr.  Jones  had  only  one  week  that 


Sam  p.  Jones.  235 

could  be  given  to  Indianapolis,  his  engagements  at  St.  Paul  and 
Minneapolis  limiting  the  time.  He  went  straight  into  his  work,  and 
preached  with  marvelous  power  the  entire  time  he  was  in  the  city. 
It  is  probable  that  he  accomplished  more  good  in  Indianapolis  in  the 
w^eek  he  spent  there  than  he  had  ever  done  before  in  so  short  a  time. 
There  were  large  numbers  of  people  converted  under  his  preaching 
and  the  morals  of  the  city  were  given  a  decidedly  better  character. 
He  made  thousands  of  friends,  and  people  who  were  bitterly  opposed 
to  his  coming  were  his  staunchest  supporters  when  his  work  there 
was  finished. 

Even  the  newspapers  that  had  antagonized  him  from  the  start, 
and  had  denounced  him  in  the  most  scathing  terms,  saw  the  good 
that  he  had  accomplished ;  and  their  editorials  were  of  an  apologetic 
nature  before  he  departed  from  the  city.  Some  of  the  papers  praised 
him  highly,  and  thanked  him  for  the  work  that  he  had  accom- 
plished. 

The  sincerity,  the  earnestness  and  the  directness  of  the  manner  in 
which  Mr.  Jones  had  preached  to  the  people  of  Indianapolis  had 
brought  forth  wonderful  results,  which  were  not  only  testified  to  in 
the  meetings,  but  were  evident  in  all  parts  of  the  city.  It  was  a 
whirlwind  victory.  Sam  Jones  came  to  the  city,  rushed  through  it  in 
a  cyclone  of  gospel  truth  and  force,  and  before  the  people  realized  it 
had  left  the  forces  of  the  devil  scattered  and  frightened,  while  the 
Christians  who  had  feared  his  coming,  and  questioned  his  methods, 
were  left  glad  and  thankful. 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting,  at  Indianapolis,  Mr.  Jones  proceeded 
at  once  to  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  where  he  had  completed  arrangements 
for  a  two-weeks'  revival  meeting. 

As  is  too  often  the  case,  bad  news  travels  far  faster  than  good 
news,  and  when  Mr.  Jones  arrived  he  found  that  the  newspapers  had 
only  received  and  printed  the  accounts  of  his  meetings  at  Indianapo- 
lis that  calculated  to  do  him  injury.  The  papers  were  up  in  arms 
against  his  coming  and  had  influenced  the  people  against  him.  The 
prejudice  of  the  people  was  unmistakable,  but  ]\Ir.  Jones  had  become 
accustomed  to  things  of  this  kind,  and  knew  how  to  meet  the  sit- 
uation. 


236  Sam  P.  Jones. 

He  spoke  the  first  time  the  same  day  he  arrived  in  St.  Paul. 
Thousands  of  people  came  to  hear  him,  but  there  was  evidence  of  the 
fact  that  few,  if  any  of  them,  were  in  sympathy  with  him.  There 
was  nothing  that  stimulated  him  to  put  forth  his  best  efforts  like  op- 
position, whether  implied  or  pronounced.  And  when  he  found  the 
violent  opposition  of  the  press,  and  the  silent  opposition  of  the  peo- 
ple, he  preached  with  all  the  power  of  his  being.  It  was  only  a  few 
days  until  he  had  completely  captured  the  city  by  his  compelling 
personality. 

His  labors  in  St.  Paul  were  productive  of  so  much  good,  and 
caused  so  much  favorable  comment,  that  he  was  urged  to  give  a  part 
of  his  time  to  the  people  in  Minneapolis.  It  was  urged  upon  him 
that  there  were  people  in  the  other  of  the  Twin  Cities  who  could  not 
go  to  hear  him  in  St.  Paul,  and  who  were  anxious  for  him  to  preach 
to  them. 

The  meetings  continued  for  two  weeks  in  St.  Paul.  He  held  oc- 
casional services  in  Minneapolis.  At  every  service  the  people  flocked 
in  great  crowds  to  hear  him.  He  did  not  turn  aside  from  his  busi- 
ness of  preaching  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and  a  great  victory  was  won 
by  him  in  the  Twin  Cities. 

As  in  every  place  he  had  ever  appeared  since  he  entered  the  min- 
istry, Mr.  Jones  attacked  the  saloons  and  the  whisky-drinking 
crowd  with  vigor.  He  did  not  spare  this  element  in  St.  Paul  and 
Minneapolis.  In  fact,  he  was  more  than  usually  severe  upon  the 
dealers  as  well  as  the  drinkers  of  liquor.  He  said  many  things  that 
aroused  the  wrath  of  the  people  who  indulged  in  stimulating  bev- 
erages, and  called  forth  much  warm  criticism  upon  himself. 

Before  the  close  of  the  meetings,  Mr.  Jones  had  so  completely  won 
over  the  Twin  Cities  that  there  was  not  a  building  in  either  place  that 
would  hold  the  crowds.  He  was  made  glad  by  the  large  number  of 
testimonials  as  to  the  good  he  had  done,  and  was  cordially  invited 
to  return  to  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


In  Toronto  and  Canada. 

Mr.  Jones's  fame  as  a  revivalist  had  spread  beyond  the  boundaries 
of  his  own  country,  and  his  marvelous  work  had  been  discussed 
throughout  the  entire  North  American  Continent.  Some  of  the 
prominent  ministers  of  all  denominations  in  Toronto,  having  be- 
come familiar  with  his  work  in  the  States,  decided  to  put  forth  an 
effort  to  get  him  to  visit  some  of  the  prominent  cities  in  the  Domin- 
ion of  Canada.  Rev.  Hugh  Johnson,  D.D.,  one  of  the  most  promi- 
nent ministers  in  Toronto,  wTote  on  behalf  of  the  Evangelical  Min- 
isters' Alliance,  asking  Mr.  Jones  to  hold  a  series  of  revival  services 
in  that  city. 

While  his  engagements  were  made  for  months  ahead,  it 
was  some  time  before  he  could  give  Dr.  Johnson  a  definite  answer, 
but  the  Toronto  ministers  were  so  solicitous  that  finally  he  arranged 
his  dates,  so  as  to  begin  his  work  October  7,  1886.  Dr.  John  Potts 
was  elected  chairman  of  the  executive  committee.  A  grander  and 
nobler  man  can  scarcely  be  found  in  the  Methodism  of  the  Dominion. 

As  the  time  approached  for  the  beginning  of  the  meeting,  some  of 
the  members  of  the  Alliance  gradually  withdrew,  and  one  or  two  of 
the  papers  began  firing  into  the  movement.  In  a  letter  just  a  week 
before  the  meeting  began  Dr.  Johnson  wrote  to  Mr.  Jones  that 
ever}^thing  would  be  in  readiness,  and  requested  that  I  accompany 
him,  saying,  "We  will  give  her  a  royal  Canadian  welcome."  Mr. 
Jones's  visit  was  under  very  favorable  auspices,  as  the  executive 
committee  had  advertised  judiciously,  and  his  coming  had  been  dis- 
cussed by  the  preachers  in  their  pulpits. 

The  two  Sabbaths  before  the  meeting  began  a  great  many  minis- 
ters took  for  their  subject  "The  Coming  Revival."  The  committee 
had  worked  in  perfect  accord,  and  had  the  plan  in  a  good  condition 

(237) 


238  Sam  P.  Jones. 

when  he  arrived.  The  newspapers  had  given  some  notoriety  to  the 
meeting,  but  had  not  been  as  kindly  disposed  to  Mr.  Jones  as  the 
papers  in  other  great  cities.  The  city  was  very  well  covered  with 
large  pictures  of  the  evangelist,  with  the  date  and  place  of  the  meet- 
ings announced. 

On  Saturday  evening  Mr.  Jones  reached  the  city,  and  the  com- 
mittee on  entertainment  met  him  at  the  station  and  conveyed  him  to- 
his  room  at  the  Rossin  House.  A  reporter  of  the  Toronto  Globe 
obtained  an  interview  with  him,  in  which  he  asked:  "What: 
are  your  methods  of  conducting  meetings  ?"  Mr.  Jones  replied  :  "I 
depend  largely  upon  the  Gospel  to  do  the  work.  There  is  very  little, 
manipulation  of  the  congregation,  such  as  asking  them  to  stand  for- 
prayer,  or  calling  them  to  the  altar — though  I  do  that  kind  of  work 
at  the  proper  time.  If  you  will  bring  home  the  plain  truths  of  the 
Bible  in  a  common-sense  way,  they  will  move  a  man  every  time.  I 
preach  at  the  conscience,  and  not  the  hearts  of  the  people."  "What 
do  you  do  with  infidels,"  inquired  the  reporter.  "I  do  not  deal  with, 
infidels ;  at  least  in  an  argumentative  way,"  replied  the  preachet'.. 
"Ridicule  is  the  only  weapon  I  use  against  them.  I  have  seen  a  great- 
many  infidels  converted,  and  they  have  all  said  that  they  were  never- 
really  infidels  at  heart.  I  can  understand  Ingersoll  lecturing  on  infi- 
delity at  five  hundred  dollars  a  night,  but  I  can't  understand  how  a 
fellow  would  be  fool  enough  to  pay  a  dollar  tO'  hear  him  and  board, 
himself.  Ingersoll  was  lecturing  on  the  'Mistakes  of  Moses'  once,  and 
a  fellow  asked  me  if  I  didn't  want  to  go  around  to  hear  him.  -I  re 
plied  'No,  I  won't  give  a  dollar  to  hear  Bob  on  the  mistakes  of 
Moses,  but  if  I  could  get  a  chance  to  hear  Moses  on  the  mistakes  of 
Bob  I'd  pay  any  reasonable  sum.'  "  "Do  you  find  any  difference  in 
the  character  of  the  people  in  your  meetings  in  different 
parts  of  the  United  States?"  asked  the  interviewer.  Mr. 
Jones  replied :  "I  find  the  people  further  south  are  more 
easily  moved.  They  haven't  the  intellectual  difficulties  that; 
curse  other  portions  of  the  country.  In  the  West  I  find 
more  coldness  and  indifference,  but  once  people  are  moved  it  is  with 
a  vengeance.  In  the  East  there  is  an  enthusiasm  borne  by  an  in- 
tellectual agreement  with  the  speaker."  The  reporter  inquired  :  "Do 
you  preach  against  dancing  and  theater-going  and  card-playing?"" 


E.  O.  EXCELL. 


QUARTETTE  THAT  SANG  AT  MR.  JONES'  FUNERAL. 

E.  O.  ExcELi,. 


Chas.  Tiuman. 

F.  E.  Oliver 


E.  R.  Smoot. 


Sam  p.  Joni^s.  239 

'"Yes,  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  these  things  are  hurting  the  church 
:and  sapping  her  life.  It  is  the  tide  of  worldliness  sweeping  over  the 
homes  of  our  country  that  is  undermining  the  life  of  the  church. 
The  folks  will  hear  from  me  on  that  subject."  "Were  you  ever  in 
'Canada  before?"  he  inquired.  "Yes,  I  was  here  five  years  ago  at- 
tending the  International  Sunday  School  Conference,  and  I  carried 
away  with  me  very  pleasant  memories  of  Toronto.  Nowhere  in 
America  have  I  seen  so  quiet  and  orderly  a  Sabbath  as  I  spent  here. 
I  believe  Toronto  is  the  cleanest  city,  morally  and  physically,  I  ever 
saw." 

The  m.eetings  were  conducted  in  the  Mutual  Street  Rink.  The 
morning  services  were  held  for  several  days  at  the  different  churches, 
but  the  ever-increasing  audiences  made  it  necessary  to  hold  the  day 
services  in  the  Rink. 

At  the  first  service  there  were  four  thousand  people  in  attendance. 
All  of  the  Methodist  preachers  of  the  city  and  many  of  the  ministers 
'of  other  denominations  were  on  the  platform.  Dr.  John  Potts  pre- 
sided. Some  of  the  prominent  men  were  Dr.  Sutherland,  mission- 
ary secretary;  Dr.  Dewart,  editor  of  the  Christian  Guardian;  Dr. 
'Nelles,  chancellor  of  the  Victoria  University,  and  Dr.  Briggs,  of 
the  Toronto  Methodist  Book  Concern.  Just  behind  the  ministers 
there  were  three  or  four  hundred  singers  gathered  from  the  different 
choirs  of  the  city.  Mr.  Maxwell  had  drilled  his  large  choir  and  had 
them  in  fine  condition.  Mr.  E.  O.  Excell,  who  was  traveling  at  that 
time  as  special  soloist,  was  present  and  rendered  a  very  efTective 
solo,  "I  Have  Found  a  Friend." 

Mr.  Jones  came  upon  the  platform  a  few  minutes  before  time  to 
preach,  and  as  he  entered  the  building  there  was  no  mistaking  him, 
-as  his  pictures  had  appeared  in  the  windows  of  the  stores,  and  had 
been  published  in  the  great  dailies.  He  walked  down  the  aisle  amid 
a  half-suppressed  murmur  of  the  crowd.  Upon  reaching  the  plat- 
form he  was  seated  with  the  other  ministers,  the  dissimilarity 
rather  noticeable,  as  he  was  the  only  one  without  a  clerical  garb. 

Dr.  Potts  presented  him  in  a  few  pleasant  words,  and  asked  the 
prayers  of  all  present  for  the  success  of  the  revival.  Mr.  Jones 
preached  for  about  an  hour  and  a  half,  and  there  was  a  great  deal  of 


240  .  Sam  P.  Jonus. 

plain  speaking,  but  nothing  was  said  in  the  discourse  that  any  one 
could  object  to.  He  had  a  little  amusement  at  the  expense  of  the 
clerg>'men  when  he  said :  "Brethren,  I  don't  ask  for  your  endorse- 
ment now ;  if  I  didn't  do  any  more  good  than  you  do,  I  would  not 
care  for  your  endorsement  of  my  work."  This  caused  a  look  of 
mild  astonishment  on  the  faces  of  a  few  of  the  ministers,  but  most 
of  them  heartily  relished  his  remarks.  Dr.  Johnson  smiled  his  ap- 
proval, and  Dr.  Briggs  expressed  the  same  sentiment  by  nodding  his 
head,  and  all  of  them  went  away  very  well  pleased.  An  enthusiastic 
lady  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  said :  "Mr.  Jones  is  just  the  sort  of  a 
man  I  expected  he  would  be." 

The  interest  in  the  services  was  marked  from  the  beginning,  and 
was  peculiar  in  the  religious  history  of  Toronto.  The  people  had 
been  friendly  to  other  great  evangelists  of  America  and  England, 
whose  manner  and  method  was  of  a  more  serious  character.  The 
crowds  were  immense  at  all  the  services,  the  men  leaving  their 
business,  women  their  domestic  duties,  and  the  claims  of  society 
and  flocking  to  the  Rink  two  and  three  times  a  day. 

The  Toronto  Globe  said:  "From  six  o'clock  nearly  to  ten  last 
night  there  was  continuously  a  big  crowd  of  people  around  the  Mu- 
tual Street  Rink.  We  are  disposed  to  place  Sam  Jones's  great  power 
in  four  things :  First,  his  intense  personal  conviction,  and  realities 
of  the  truths  that  he  uttered;  secondly,  his  naturalness,  directness 
and  simplicity  of  speech ;  thirdly,  in  his  keen  and  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  human  nature  and  the  temptations  of  life;  fourthly,  his 
unique  natural  gift  of  terse,  pungent  speech,  with  vivid  homely  illus- 
trations. It  is  an  easy  thing  for  any  one  who  is  disposed  to  indulge 
in  adverse  criticism,  and  to  disparage  any  movement,  to  generally 
find  some  plausible  pretense  for  doing  so.  We  are  free  to  confess 
that  we  do  not  feel  bound  to  prove  every  sentiment  expressed,  but 
in  spite  of  all  this,  the  fact  remains  that  no  such  widespread  relig- 
ious interest  was  ever  before  called  forth  in  this  city.  Beecher  was 
once  described  as  irreverent,  so  was  Spurgeon,  so  was  Talmage, 
so  was  Moody,  and  so  was  Sam  Jones.  Is  it  possible  that  truth,  re- 
ligion and  morality  can  be  made  too  familiar  to  the  people.  As  to 
his  metaphors,  there  was  one  in  Judea  about  eighteen  hundred  years 


Sam  p.  Jones.  241 

ago,  who  taught  by  homely  ihustrations,  which  were  down  to  the 
level  of  the  fishermen  and  agricultural  laborers.  He  was  called 
irreverent  by  the  formalists  of  that  time,  and  their  protests  even 
went  to  the  length  of  procuring  His  crucifixion." 

The  attention  of  the  whole  Provinces  of  Canada  was  attracted  to 
the  meetings,  and  the  people  came  from  many  of  the  leading  cities 
to  attend  the  revival.  From  the  standpoint  of  attendance  and  gen- 
uine enthusiasm,  there  had  not  been  such  a  meeting  in  the  history 
of  the  city.  Mr.  Jones  took  several  occasions  to  compliment  them 
for  their  regard  for  the  holy  Sabbath.  It  was  a  real  joy  to  him  to 
see  so  large  a  city  as  quiet  as  a  country  hamlet  on  the  day  of  rest. 
He  said :  "There  is  one  thing  you  people  of  Toronto  take  the  blue 
ribbon  for,  and  that  is  your  God-fearing  way  in  Sabbath  observ- 
ance. It  gladdens  my  heart  to  see  a  great  people  in  the  busy  city 
^vho  can  stop  thinking  of  temporal  affairs  long  enough  to  keep  the 
Lord's  Day  holy.  You  can  not  buy  a  newspaper,  run  a  street-car, 
open  a  theater,  sell  liquor,  or  do  anything  on  the  Sabbath  that  God 
w^ould  disapprove.  You  are  a  great  church-going  people,  and  that  is 
another  thing  that  I  like  about  you.  God  will  not  withhold  his 
blessing  from  a  city  that  will  keep  the  Sabbath  and  attend  divine 
v/orship.  I  wish  I  could  say  as  much  for  the  cities  in  the  United 
States,  but  the  spirit  of  greed,  worldliness  and  godlessness  seems  to 
have  gotten  such  a  hold  upon  us  in  our  great  cities  that  the  hearts  of 
our  people  are  well-nigh  eaten  out." 

But  he  did  not  fail  to  find  fault  with  them  for  legalizing  the 
liquor  traffic.  In  his  preaching,  he  denounced  the  open  saloon  un- 
mercifully ;  no  one  else  ever  had  the  conviction  nor  the  boldness  to 
do  so.  In  one  of  his  sermons  he  said :  "You  will  have  whisky  be- 
cause you  want  it.  Toronto  could  vote  out  the  saloons  and  the 
places  of  shame  that  infest  the  city.  If  you  would  have  the  same  re- 
spect for  God's  word,  'Woe  be  unto  you,'  that  you  have  for  'remem- 
ber the  Sabbath  Day  to  keep  it  holy,'  with  your  sturdy  manhood 
turned  against  these  dives,  the  city  could  be  freed  from  them.  This 
is  a  free  country,  and  you  can  have  things  just  as  3'ou  want  them. 
You  don't  want  any  trade  on  Sunday,  and  you  don't  have  any.  If 
you  want  prohibition,  glory  to  God,  you  can  get  it.     [Applause.] 


242  Sam  P.  Jones. 

1  said  to  the  liquor  dealers  of  my  town  two  years  ago,  'If  my  boy 
should  come  to  your  grocery  and  ask  for  liquor,  take  him  out  in  your 
back  yard,  and  lay  his  head  on  a  block,  before  you  w^ould  sell  it  to 
him.  If  you  kill  him,  his  precious  soul  goes  home;  but  if  you  make 
him  drunk,  he  is  ruined,  body,  mind  and  soul  for  both  worlds.'  [Ap- 
plause.] People  say  prohibition  does  not  prohibit.  Well,  there  are 
murderers  notwithstanding  the  law  against  murder,  but  we  have  the 
fun  of  hanging  a  murderer  every  now  and  then.  [Laughter.]  And 
so  where  there  is  a  prohibitorial  law  that  can  put  the  lawbreakers 
into  the  penitentiary  and  have  some  fun,  it  is  the  next  best  thing 
to  religion.  [Laughter  again.]  There  are  three  classes  of  men 
whom  God  has  never  been  able  to  do  much  with — the  lazy  man,  the 
stingy  fellow,  and  the  fool.  I  have  seen  the  Lord  do  his  best  with 
them,  and  fail  utterly.     I  say  that  reverently." 

While  preaching  in  Toronto,  there  came  to  the  notice  of  ]\Ir. 
Jones,  through  the  newspapers  and  other  sources,  a  case  which 
stirred  the  evangelist's  sense  of  justice  as  it  had  seldom  been  touched 
before. 

There  was  on  trial  in  the  city  a  woman  who  had  burned  a  saloon, 
and  from  the  fact  that  the  fire  started  by  the  woman  had  come  near 
destroying  the  life  of  the  proprietor  of  the  dive,  she  was  charged 
with  arson,  the  penalty  for  which,  in  Canada,  is  death. 

Mr.  Jones  gathered  the  facts  of  the  case  together,  and  while 
preaching  against  the  evils  of  the  liquor  traffic  before  a  vast  audi- 
ence of  Toronto  people,  he  said :  "There  is  to-day  a  woman  on  trial 
in  your  court  charged  with  arson,  and  who,  although  she  has  pleaded 
guilty  to  the  indictment,  is  as  innocent  of  any  crime  as  a  child. 

"This  poor  woman,  I  learn,  has  an  only  son,  and  he  is  her  all 
He  is  the  dependence  and  the  hope  of  the  widowed  mother.  That 
son  fell  into  the  habit  of  drinking,  and  it  was  at  the  groggery  to 
which  his  mother  stuck  the  fire  that  he  would  spend  his  hard-earned 
money  and  debauch  himself  day  after  day.  The  drinking  of  the 
son  was  breaking  the  heart  of  his  good  mother,  and  she  pleaded  with 
him  to  give  it  up  and  be  the  man  she  wanted  him  to  make.  When 
she  saw  that  her  pleadings  with  the  boy  were  of  no  avail,  she  went 
to  the  keeper  of  the  dive    and  laid  the  case  before  him.     Tlease 


Sam   p.  Jones.  "  243 

don't  sell  this  stuff  to  my  son  any  more,'  she  said;  'he  is  all  I  have 
in  the  world,  and  I  pray  you  not  to  ruin  him  for  this  and  the  world 
to  come.  If  you  will  not  sell  my  boy  any  more  whisky  I  will  bring 
you  the  amount  he  would  spend  at  your  place,  and  give  it  to  you 
myself  every  Saturday  night.  It  is  not  the  money  I  want,  but  the 
soul  of  my  precious  boy.'  Now,  that  bull-necked,  white-aproned 
scoundrel  drove  that  weeping,  heart-broken  mother  out  of  his  place, 
and  with  a  laugh,  said :  'As  long  as  your  son  has  the  mone}^  he  can 
get  what  he  wants  at  my  place.'  'I  warn  you,'  said  the  good  woman, 
'that  you  can  not  and  must  not  sell  that  stuff  to  my  boy  again.' 

"A  few  nights  after  that  the  boy  came  reeling  home  so  drunk  that 
he  cursed  and  abused  his  mother,  a  thing  he  had  never  done  before. 
He  chided  her  with  having  attempted  to  interfere  with  his  business 
in  asking  the  saloon-keeper  not  to  sell  him  any  more  whisky.  The 
abuse  of  the  drunken  young  man  so  outraged  the  mother  that  she 
gathered  up  a  bundle  of  rags,  soaked  them  with  kerosene  oil,  and 
after  setting  them  afire,  placed  the  blazing  bundle  under  the  corner 
of  the  little  grogger}^  The  little  dive  was  soon  in  flames,  and  it 
burned  so  rapidly  that  it  came  near  getting  the  scoundrel  that  ran 
the  place.    He  w-as  sleeping  in  his  establishment. 

"Now,  as  I  said  before,  this  poor  woman  is  on  trial  for  her  life, 
but  if  they  will  give  Sam  Jones  just  ten  minutes  before  that  jury, 
and  they  then  bring  in  a  verdict  of  guilty,  I  will  gladly  take  her  place 
and  let  them  hang  me."  [Although  the  Canadian  people  are  not 
demonstrative,  and  seldom  applaud  a  public  speaker,  this  utterance 
of  the  evangelist  brought  forth  vociferous  applause  which  lasted 
for  many  minutes.] 

"It  has  come  to  a  pretty  pass,"  said  Mr.  Jones,  continuing,  "in 
this  day  of  boasted  civilization  and  culture,  that  the  laws  of  our 
land  will  give  a  white-aproned  scoundrel  the  right  to  burn  up  the 
souls  of  thousands  of  young  men  of  this  country,  and  will  punish 
with  death  the  woman  whose  only  offense  was  the  attempted  pro- 
tection of  her  only  boy  from  a  drunkard's  grave.  God  pity  the 
country  whose  laws  will  give  protection  to  the  damnable  saloon- 
keeper, and  will  not  aid  the  noble  mothers  in  protecting  their  boys 
from  the  evils  of  the  liquor  traffic." 


244  Sam  P.  Jonks. 

The  trial  of  the  woman  ended  the  following  day,  and  the  verdict 
of  the  jury  was,  "Not  guilty." 

Conversions  had  multiplied  day  by  day,  until  Rev.  Hugh  John- 
son said  in  the  public  press  that  there  had  been  at  least  six  thousand 
people  converted  who  had  expressed  themselves  for  church  member- 
ship. Inquired  the  reporter :  "Does  this  represent  all  the  good  that 
has  been  accomplished  so  far?"  Dr.  Johnson  replied:  "Oh,  dear, 
no;  not  a  tithe  of  it.  Thousands  have  been  impressed  and  started 
upon  a  new  life,  and  have  manifested  it  by  rising  in  the  congrega- 
tion and  remaining  in  the  after-service."  "Are  the  micetings  coming 
up  to  your  expectation?"  he  again  inquired.  "They  are,  indeed," 
said  Dr.  Johnson.  "Such  results  seldom  come  so  early  in  a  meet- 
ing." "What  about  the  opposition  aroused  ?"  "Of  course  the  devil 
and  his  crew,  the  drinking,  swearing,  gambling,  theater-going,  fast- 
living  crowd  hate  him,  and  fight  him  for  his  awful  invectives  and. 
powerful  thrusts  at  sin,  but  the  best  people  of  this  -city  stand  by  him. 
His  hard  hits  and  droll  illustrations  cause  outbursts  of  laughter, 
which  annoy  some  of  the  hidebound  old  fellows,  who  think  it  is  a 
sin  to  laugh  in  a  meeting,  but  his  common  sense,  directness,  and 
earnestness,  manifested  in  every  look  and  gesture,  and  merriment 
carries  instant  convictions,  and  his  way  of  putting  things  is  simply 
inimitable  and  irresistible.  His  pathos  is  the  most  natural  and  ten- 
der that  I  ever  listened  to,  and  at  times  you  will  see  the  eyes  of 
thousands  suffused  with  tears."  "Do  you  and  the  ministers  endorse 
everything  he  says?"  "No,  we  don't  need  to.  To  turn  up  our 
nose  at  what  may  seem  irreverent  to  us  is  to  put  ourselves  above 
God,  who  honors  him  so  greatly  in  the  salvation  of  souls,  and  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  seizes  upon  the  marvelous  combination  of  gifts 
and  powers,  and  uses  them  for  his  own  glory."  "Are  not  the  ex- 
penses of  these  meetings  very  heavy?"  "Yes,  but  you  must  remem- 
ber that  the  Musical  Festival  in  the  Rink  cost  five  thousand  dollars 
a  day,  making  a  total  of  fifteen  thousand  for  the  three  days.  No 
one  seemed  to  raise  an  objection  to  that.  The  comparatively  small 
expense  will  be  met  by  the  collections  and  the  generosity  of 
friends."  "It  seems  that  the  other  churches  are  falling  into  line." 
"Yes,  good  people  can  not  keep  out  of  a  great  work  like  this.     I 


Sam  p.  JonkS.  245 

saw  the  president  of  the  Baptist  College,  Dr.  Cassel,  and  a  majority 
of  the  Baptist  ministers  of  the  city  deeply  interested  in  his  after- 
noon service.  Methodist  fire  and  Baptist  water  when  brought  to- 
gether give  steam,  propelling  power  to  the  gospel  engine.  The 
Church  of  England  ministers,  and  the  Congregational  and  Presby- 
terian clergymen  are  taking  interest.  They  generally  go  hand  in 
hand  in  spiritual  work  of  this  kind.  We  expect  to  follow  this  evan- 
gelistic meeting  by  united  services  in  every  section  and  suburb  in 
Toronto.  We  are  bound  to  keep  at  it  as  the  work  reaches  further 
and  deeper  each  day." 

At  the  closing  service  of  the  meeting  thousands  of  people  left 
their  homes  early  in  the  evening  to  secure  seats  for  the  final  sermon. 
While  six  thousand  or  more  were  packed,  into  the  Rink  by  seven 
o'clock,  the  meeting  commencing  an  hour  later,  there  were  as  many 
who  were  turned  away  and  suffered  disappointment.  By  a  mistake 
the  Mutual  Street  Rink  was  opened  fifteen  minutes  after  six,  and 
the  crowd  soon  filled  every  seat  in  the  spacious  building.  Most  of 
the  disappointed  ones  returned  home,  but  hundreds  remained  on  the 
outside,  gazing  eagerly  at  the  windows  and  doors.  Members  of  the 
choir,  the  reporters  and  policemen  were  crowded  out  of  the  meeting. 
The  dressing-rooms  of  the  Rink  were  filled  with  people,  though  none 
of  them  could  see  the  preacher  or  hear  a  word  of  the  sermon.  The 
dressing-rooms  were  so  densely  crowded  that  several  women  fainted, 
but  the  ushers  were  afraid  to  open  the  doors  for  fear  the  crowd 
would  rush  in,  and  at  last  a  window  was  smashed  and  a  number  of 
half-suffocated  men  and  women  left  the  building.  A  hundred  or 
more  outsiders  rushed  to  the  window  trying  to  get  the  places  thus 
vacated.  In  making  closing  announcements.  Dr.  Potts  said:  "Re- 
vival services  will  continue  at  the  Methodist  churches,  Elm  Street, 
Sherbourne  Street,  Carolton  Street,  Blewer  Street,  Burkely  Street, 
Richmond  Street,  Queen  Street,  Agnes  Street,  Woodgreen  Street, 
King  Street,  and  Dundas  Street.  Other  meetings  will  start 
soon  at  the  St.  Paul's  church,  Spadina  Avenue  church,  Gerard 
church,  and  Parksdale  Methodist  church."  Dr.  Potts  then  called  on 
Dr.  Hugh  Johnson  to  lead  in  prayer.  Then  Mr.  Jones  arose  and 
said :   "Before  I  take  my  text,  I  will  say  that  I  have  received  many 


246  Sam  P.  Jones. 

communications,  more  than  I  can  read.  It  was  impossible  for  me 
to  answer  them.  I  will  turn  them  over  to  my  secretary,  and  he  will 
pick  out  such  as  demand  answering,  and  I  will  dictate  answers  to 
him. 

"It  was  scarcely  possible  for  me  to  get  in  the  door  of  this  build- 
ing to-night,  owing  to  the  great  surging  mass  of  people  on  the  out- 
side so  eager  to  get  in.  I  suppose,  well,  I  might  say  thousands 
sought  admittance  here  to-night  and  could  not  find  it.  Oh,  how  it 
bleeds  my  heart  to  see  the  hungry  world.  God  feed  them  all  with 
His  truth  and  grace.  I  want  to  say,  many  of  you  I  will  never  see 
again  this  side  of  the  judgment  bar  of  God.  I  want  to  say  to  you 
that  I  have  been  drawn  towards  you  as  a  people.  I  came  here  with 
admiration  in  my  soul  for  Toronto  and  her  people,  and  that  admira- 
tion has  been  turned  into  love,  the  divinest  passion  that  ever  stirred 
a  human  heart.  I  thank  God  I  ever  came  to  this  city.  I  only  wish 
that  this  association  might  be  continued  indefinitely.  I  say  to  you, 
I  love  you,  and  I  trust  that  this  love  can  be  mutual.  And,  brethren, 
let  me  say  to  you,  give  me  your  prayers  and  your  sympathy,  as  they 
have  in  other  places.  This  work  overwhelms  me  with  the  respon- 
sibility of  it.  I  carry  it  as  God  may  help  me.  I  am  glad  I  am  a  man. 
The  sun  without  its  spots  v/ould  be  a  sight  this  world  never  saw. 
I  am  as  frail  as  any  of  you.  I  have  as  many  imperfections  as  any  of 
you.  I  have  as  many  faults  and  foibles  as  any  of  you.  And  yet  un- 
derstand, brother,  that  my  heart  is  full  of  the  love  of  God,  my  heart 
is  full  of  love  to  my  fellow  man.  I  know  I  love  God,  and  I  know 
I  love  every  man  that  walks  this  earth,  and  I  love  every  woman,  as 
much  as  my  wife  will  let  me."    [Laughter.] 

[Dr.  Potts  here  w^hispered,  "Precious  wife."] 

"As  Dr.  Potts  would  have  me  say,  'precious  wife.'  I  have  used 
the  expression  so  much,  he  seems  to  like  that  term.  I  don't  know 
why." 

Dr.  Potts  said,  "We  approve  of  it.  We  are  going  to  adopt  it  here 
in  Toronto." 

In  March  of  the  following  year  Mr.  Jones  returned  to  Toronto 
for  a  four  days'  mission,  mostly  in  the  interest  of  temperance  and 
municipal  reform.    While  his   work  took  the  character  of  evan- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  247 

gelistic  services  and  many  were  converted,  his  greatest  work  was  in 
behalf  of  prohibition.  Many  times  afterwards  he  visited  the  city 
and  lectured,  and  was  always  greeted  by  large  audiences.  He 
preached  and  lectured  in  many  of  the  prominent  cities  of  the  Do- 
minion, and  some  of  his  warmest,  staunchest  and  truest  friends 
were  among  the  Canadians. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


Omaha  and  Kansas  City. 

In  November,  1886,  Mr.  Jones  opened  his  meetings  at  Omaha^ 
Nebraska.  It  was  the  farthest  Western  point  he  had  ever  visited, 
and  he  found  himself  among  a  new  and  a  strange  people. 

The  Westerners  were  big-hearted  and  generous,  however,  and 
having  heard  much  of  the  strenuous  preacher,  they  received  him 
with  kindly  expectancy.  Mr.  Jones  had  hesitated  for  some  time, 
preferring  not  to  go  so  far  from  his  Georgia  home,  but  the  ministers 
of  Omaha  pressed  upon  him  so  emphatically  their  need  of  his  serv- 
ices that  he  finally  consented  to  make  the  journey. 

Upon  his  arrival  in  Omaha  he  saw  at  once  that  the  min- 
isters were  in  hearty  sympathy  with  him,  and  could  be  counted  on  to 
give  their  support.  This  was  encouraging,  and  did  much  to  make 
the  meeting  a  success. 

The  committee  on  arrangements  secured  the  Exposition  Build- 
ing, which  seated  five  thousand,  and  allowed  standing-room  for 
many  more.  .. 

The  meetings  at  Omaha  continued  for  three  weeks,  and  from  the 
preaching  there  resulted  a  widespread  religious  awakening.  At 
every  sei^vice  there  was  a  larger  crowd  than  the  building  would  seat, 
and  the  interest  of  the  people  was  intense. 

There  was  little  pronounced  opposition  in  the  Nebraska  city.  The 
newspapers  received  him  with  kindness,  and  one  or  two  with  words 
of  genuine  praise.    An  editorial  from  the  Republican  follows : 

"The  primary  cause  of  Sam  Jones's  strength  as  a  preacher  lies 
in  the  fact  that  he  has  brains.  A  mere  explosion  of  slang  and  pro- 
vincialism would  not  create  much  of  an  excitement  for  any  length 
of  time.  Bald  vulgarity  would  not  have  lifted  him  from  a  Georgia 
country  pulpit  to  a  position  of  national  prominence  in  the  religious 

(248) 


Sam  p.  Jones.  249 

world.  When  results  are  large  and  continuous,  they  must  be  con- 
sidered just  as  they  are.  Prejudice  can  not  always  trace  them  back 
to  petty  sensationalism. 

"This  man  has  preached  all  over  the  country.  In  every  city  he 
has  visited  he  has  met  with  opposition  on  his  arrival.  The  general 
estimate  of  those  who  have  not  heard  him,  and  who  should  not,  as 
a.  consequence,  estimate  him  at  all,  is  unfavorable.  But  the  people 
he  attracts  by  the  curiosity  to  see  and  hear  him  he  holds  by  his  force. 
There  is  crude,  rugged,  epigrammatic  vigor  in  what  he  says  that  ap- 
peals to  the  popular  sensibilities.  He  carried  more  rocks  in  his 
pockets  than  frills  on  his  clothes.  He  has  the  earnestness  of  the  old- 
fashioned  belief  which  never  minces  words,  or,  introduces  the  name 
of  the  Almighty  without  prefatory  apology.  In  Whitfield's  time, 
Vv'hen  a  sparse  population  and  much  solitude  in  the  wilderness  made 
the  early  pioneer  introspective  and  emotional,  Jones  would  have 
probably  been  as  great  a  force  as  Whitfield.  As  it  is,  he  has  made 
larger  progress  in  a  cynical  age,  and  in  a  day  of  veneer  and  super- 
ficial free  thought.     No  ordinar}'-  man  could  have  done  this. 

"It  is  said  that  he  makes  money.  We  don't  know  whether  he 
does  or  not,  but  we  hope  he  does.  There  is  no  particular  reason 
vv'hy  vice  should  monopolize  all  the  profits  of  the  world.  It  would 
he  a  rather  poor  incentive  to  do  good  if  poverty  and  religion  are  to 
be  synonymous  and  immorality  is  to  have  all  the  worldl}'  advan- 
tages. We  fail  to  see  why  religion  should  be  discriminated  against. 
Naturally  this  is  the  point  at  which  the  'sell  all  that  thou  hast' 
should  be  quoted,  but  if  this  is  to  be  taken  literally  there  will  have 
to  be  a  general  auction  sale  of  all  the  effects  of  all  the  professing 
Christians.  No  man  can  insist  upon  the  letter  of  the  law  for  other 
people  when  he  pays  scarcely  any  attention  to  even  the  spirit  of  it 
himself.  The  truth  is  that  the  church  is  rich  enough  to  pay  its  work- 
ers, and  to  pay  them  well.  If  it  would  devote  less  money  to  brick 
and  more  to  brains  it  would  be  much  stronger  to-day.  The  blood 
of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  church,  but  the  martyrs  will  have 
very  little  blood  if  they  do  not  get  enough  to  eat.  It  is  a  poor  sort 
of  creature  who  will  grudge  any  minister  of  the  gospel  the  bread 
necessary  for  himself  and  family. 


250  Sam  P.  Jones. 

"Quite  independent  of  religion,  and  purely  as  a  social  force,  Sam 
Jones  has  his  value.  If,  out  of  all  the  vast  audiences  he  has  ad- 
dressed, he  has  given  but  one  man  a  glimpse  of  higher  morality  and 
taught  him  his  duty  to  society  and  his  fellows,  he  has  done  a  work 
of  which  he  may  be  proud.  But  he  has  convinced  thousands  instead 
of  one.  He  deals  with  faults  and  vices  with  an  unsparing  tongue, 
and  even  if  the  lesson  does  not  sink  immediately,  it  may  have  an 
after-value.  A  rough  customer  said  to  Moody  once,  'For  fort)^- 
eight  hours  after  listening  to  you  I  was  a  good  man.'  'Thank  God 
for  that  much,'  replied  Moody,  'in  those  forty-eight  hours,  under 
other  circumstances,  you  might  have  committed  murder.' 

"Sam  Jones  has  the  heartiest  sympathy  of  the  Republican  in  his 
work.    Any  man  who  tries  to  do  good  is  doing  good." 

This  editorial  was  considered  by  Mr.  Jones  to  be  one  of  the  best 
that  had  ever  been  written  about  him  and  his  work.  It  gave  a  great 
deal  of  help  while  he  was  in  Omaha. 

He  always  mentioned  the  meeting  at  Omaha  with  a  great 
pride,  and  with  thankfulness  to  God,  for  there  he  gained  a  great 
victory  in  a  strange  country.  Omalia  was  one  of  the  most  prosper- 
ous and  growing  cities  of  the  central  West.  Everything  there  was. 
wide  open.  At  the  beginning,  the  idea  of  his  accomplishing  much 
good  in  so  godless  a  place  seemed  almost  ludicrous  to  a  great  many 
of  the  people,  but  before  his  labors  were  finished  their  doubts  were 
dispelled.  The  churches  in  Omaha  were  wonderfully  strengthened 
by  the  work,  and  the  moral  and  religious  life  of  the  city  was  greatly 
improved.  He  made  hundreds  of  friends  in  Omaha,  who  were 
true  to  him  until  his  death. 

It  was  some  time  after  the  Omaha  meeting  before  he  went  to 
Kansas  City.  Just  before  his  engagement  at  the  latter  place  he 
had  passed  through  one  of  the  most  trvnng  ordeals  of  his  life.  My 
severe  illness  had  been  a  severe  strain  upon  him,  and  when  he 
reached  Kansas  City,  January  i,  1887,  he  was  practically  worn  out. 
However,  he  was  so  grateful  to  God  that  death's  cruel  hand  had 
been  stayed,  that  he  felt  he  could  best  show  his  gratitude  by  taking 
up  immediately  the  work  of  winning  souls. 

The  ministers  had  arranged  for  the  meetings  to  be  held  in  the. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  251 

Temple,  a  new,  large  building,  with  a  seating  capacity  of  eight  thou- 
sand. When  Mr.  Jones  first  spoke,  he  was  greeted  by  at  least  ten 
thousand  people,  as  every  seat  in  the  building  was  taken,  and  hun- 
dreds were  standing  in  the  aisles.  The  news  of  his  great  sorrow 
had  preceded  him  to  Kansas  City,  and  this  seemed  to  soften  the 
criticism  that  was  directed  towards  him.  The  newspapers  of  Kansas 
City  were  especially  kind  to  him  and  editorially  favored  his  com- 
ing. They  gave  fine  reports  of  his  meetings,  devoting  large  space 
daily  to  his  sermons. 

The  illness  in  his  home  had  wonderfully  softened  his  heart,  and 
he  preached  with  deep  spirituality  and  tenderness.  He  did  not, 
however,  spare  the  evil-doers  of  the  city.  He  waged  a  terrific  war 
against  the  saloons  and  gambling-houses,, and  his  preaching  was 
effectual  in  closing  a  number  of  the  latter.  The  saloons  were  regu- 
lated also  by  the  Law  and  Order  League  that  was  organized  after 
he  left  the  city  as  one  of  the  results  of  his  meeting. 

The  first  meeting  held  for  "men  only"at  Kansas  City  showed  the 
deep  interest  that  had  been  aroused.  There  were  more  than  eight 
thousand  representative  men  of  the  city  crowded  into  the  Temple. 
It  was  held  in  the  afternoon  of  a  week-day,  which  made  it  a  most 
remarkable  gathering.  It  was  a  magnificent  congregation,  and  every 
one  present  listened  intently,  from  the  first  word  to  the  last.  They 
cheered  him  lustily,  and  laughed  and  wept  as  his  message  swayed 
them  between  the  two  emotions. 

At  no  place  had  Mr.  Jones  ever  received  more  carefu^l  considera- 
tion. The  people  wanted  to  hear  him,  and  his  sermons  sank  into 
the  hearts  of  his  hearers,  resulting  in  the  conversion  and  reforma- 
tion of  hundreds. 

The  ministers  of  the  Methodist,  Baptist,  Presbyterian,  Christian, 
Lutheran  and  Congregational  churches  were  in  sympathy  with  the 
work,  and  gave  him  great  help  by  their  cooperation  in  the  meetings. 
By  their  help  and  influence  the  good  work  was  carried  to  all  parts 
of  the  city,  and  the  question  of  religion  was  the  great  topic  of  dis- 
cussion by  people  from  all  walks  of  life  for  many  weeks. 

Mr.  Jones  wrote  in  a  letter  to  the  Wesleyan  Christian  Advocate: 
"We  of  course  have  had  the  usual  criticisms  in  Kansas  City,  but 


262  Sam  P.  Jones. 

there  is  a  strong  undercurrent  of  deep  conviction  upon  the  city ;  the 
ideas  of  sin  and  righteousness  dominate  the  whole  city.  The  leading 
business  men  of  the  city  tell  me  that  religion  is  the  subject  of  con- 
versation in  the  banks  and  other  business  places." 

Mr.  Jones  labored  for  the  entire  four  weeks  while  he  was  there 
with  the  greatest  earnestness  and  zeal.  At  the  closing  service  he 
was  made  happy  by  the  reading  of  a  testimonial  from  the  ministers 
of  the  city,  by  Rev.  Schley  Schaff,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
church,  who  prefaced  the  reading  with  the  following  remarks: 

"Mr.  Jones,  you  are  about  to  close  your  labors  in  Kansas  City. 
For  four  weeks  you  have  worked  incessantly  in  our  midst.  Large 
audiences  have  hung  upon  the  words  that  came  from  your  lips.  W'e 
brethren  were  in  doubt  as  to  what  attitude  to  assume  toward  you, 
not  having  heard  you,  but  the  more  we  have  heard  your  piercing 
utterances  against  iniquity,  the  more  we  have  seen  of  you  personally 
in  the  pulpit,  the  more  closely  we  have  unanimously  gathered  around 
you,  until  this  afternoon,  if  it  were  possible  for  all  the  ministers  be- 
longing to  the  different  denominations  to  be  here,  they  would,  per- 
haps, without  an  exception,  express  their  earnest,  cordial  regard  for 
you  personally,  your  earnest  sympathy  to  men  and  the  promotion  of 
the  cause  of  righteousness,  of  good  morality  and  of  repentance,  and 
sir,  I  hold  in  my  hands  now  a  paper  which  is  a  testimony  on  our 
part  of  your  fidelity  in  this  work,  and  of  our  warm  personal  regard 
for  you.  Shall  I  read  it?"  ["Yes,  yes,"  from  all  over  the  house.] 
He  read : 

"Kansas  City,  Mo.,  January  28th. 

"To  the  Rev.  Sam  Jones,  Evangelist. 

"Dear  Brother  :  We,  brethren  in  the  ministry  in  Kansas  City, 
desire  herewith  to  express  to  you  our  warm  fraternal  affection  and 
our  rejoicing  over  the  good  work  you  and  your  co-workers  have 
been  enabled  to  do  in  our  midst.  For  four  weeks  of  unremitting 
labor,  you  have  preached  with  earnestness  and  tenderness  the  great 
things  out  of  God's  moral  law,  and  salvation  by  grace.  Your  clear 
exposure  of  sin,  and  your  keen  denunciations  of  it  in  every  form 
and  as  it  manifests  itself  in  all  stations  and  avenues  of  life,  have. 


\ 


Sam  p.  JoN:es.  253 

qviickened  the  moral  sensibilities  of  our  churches  and  aroused,  as  we 
believe,  the  dormant  consciences  of  a  multitude  in  this  city.  The 
immense  attendance  upon  the  services  day  and  night  of  men  of  all 
ranks  from  the  richest  to  the  poorest,  from  the  pure  to  the  de- 
bauched, in  spite  of  some  of  the  bitterest  weather  ever  known  in  the 
city — an  attendance  growing  larger  to  the  end — this  is  a  sufficient 
indication  of  the  interest  which  your  preaching,  under  God,  has 
stirred.  The  people  have  heard  the  preaching.  God  grant  that 
multitudes  may  date  their  eternal  salvation  from  this  season  of  uni- 
versal thought  and  widespread  earnestness.  To  this  expression 
of  warm  personal  regard  and  confidence,  we  add  our  prayer,  com- 
mending you  to  the  grace  and  guidance  of  God,  and  supplicating 
that  He  may  continue  to  grant  you  strength,  Avisdom,  and  all  help 
to  go  on  in  the  good  work  of  calling  nijcn  to  repentance  and  faith  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  .  We  are  very  truly  your  friends." 

This  was  signed  by  twenty-five  of  the  leading  ministers  of  all  de- 
nominations, and  was  greatly  appreciated  by  Mr.  Jones,  who  re- 
sponded in  well-chosen  words  to  this  deed  of  brotherly  love. 

During  his  stay  there  Mr.  Jones  became  very  fond  of  Kansas 
City,  and  spoke  of  it  favorably  as  a  residence  city.  Upon  learning 
of  this,  the  people  made  an  effort  to  induce  him  to  locate  there.  He 
was  besieged  with  requests  from  the  people  that  he  make  his  home 
with  them,  and  for  many  months  after  he  left  was  importuned  by 
those  who  loved  him  to  return  and  locate  in  their  midst.  They 
urged  the  convenience  of  the  location  upon  him,  showed  him  the 
advantage  of  the  railway  facilities  of  the  city,  and  attempted  to  con- 
vince him  of  how  much  more  good  he  could  do  from  being  located 
in  a  point  accessible  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  Many  arguments 
were  brought  to  bear  upon  him,  but  Mr.  Jones  declined  with  thanks 
the  kind  offers  they  made  to  give  him  a  handsome  home,  saying  he 
could  not  bring  himself  to  the  point  of  leaving  his  Georgia  home. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


The  Great  Work  in  Boston. 

The  Methodist  Union  invited  Mr.  Jones  to  visit  Boston.  He  had 
labored  in  every  section  of  the  country  except  the  N'ew  England 
States,  and  Boston  being  the  "hub"  and  the  most  renowned  city 
from  a  Hterary  and  reHgious  viewpoint,  he  accepted  the  call.  The 
opportunity  was  great  for  him  to  impress  himself  upon  that  part  of 
the  Union.  Mr.  Jones  believed  that  a  great  work  could  be  accom- 
plished in  Boston,  and  gave  them  as  the  date  for  the  meeting,  Jan- 
uary I,  1887. 

When  the  papers  announced  his  coming,  the  Associated  Press  tel- 
egraphed the  news  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  coun- 
try. The  eyes  of  the  United  States  were  upon  him,  and  a  great  deal 
of  speculation  was  indulged  in  in  regard  to  his  going  there.  His 
enemies  and  critics  said  he  had  at  last  come  to  the  city  that  vrould 
be  his  Waterloo.  They  felt  assured  that  Boston's  refinement  and 
culture  would  not  long  tolerate  the  "slang"  and  "vulgarism"  of  the 
Georgia  evangelist,  and  that  he  would  fail  utterly  and  ingloriously 
in  the  city  of  great  learning.  His  friends  studied  the  situation  with 
great  fear  as  to  the  final  outcome  of  the  proposed  visit.  Others, 
with  faith  in  his  ability  and  in  God's  power,  believed  that  he  would 
capture  Boston  and  succeed  there  as  he  had  done  everywhere  else. 
Those  occupying  a  neutral  attitude  towards  him  said :  "If  Sam  Jones 
can  go  to  Boston  and  make  his  meeting  a  success,  he  can  go  any- 
where in  the  world,  for  Boston  is  so  full  of  'isms  and  religions,'  and 
the  people  have  such  a  hypercritical  mind  toward  every  move  that  is 
not  of  Boston  origin  and  stamp.  If  he  can  create  an  interest  and 
impress  Boston  he  will  demonstrate  to  the  entire  world  his  mastery 
of  assemblies,  and  make  for  himself  a  permanent  place  in  the  history 
of  the  civilized  world." 

(254) 


Sam  p.  Jones.  255 

His  correspondence  was  full  of  letters  of  advice  from  Boston  and 
other  cities,  as  to  the  most  expedient  way  for  him  to  preach  to  the 
highly-cultured  audiences  at  the  "literary  hub  of  the  universe."  Some 
of  the  correspondents  expressed  doubts  as  to  the  wisdom  of  his  go- 
ing at  all.  Mr.  Jones  received  these  suggestions  kindly,  but  with 
a  smile,  and  tliey  did  not  for  an  instant  disturb  his  equilibrium,  or 
turn  him  aside  from  his  determination  to  go  and  in  the  strength  of 
the  Lord  conquer  the  powers  that  be.  He  was  conscious  of  the 
power  w^ith  which  God  had  endowed  him.  With  an  omnipotent 
faith  in  the  Holy  Spirit  to  be  present  and  guide  him  in  his  work,  he 
had  every  assurance  that  the  campaign  would  result  in  great  vic- 
tory for  the  cause  of  his  Master. 

There  was  much  curiosity  and  doubt  among  some  of  the  ministers 
who  invited  him  as  tO'  the  probable  success  or  failure  of  his  work 
among  them.  They  thought  thaf  perhaps  his  fearless  attacks  on  the 
sins  and  vices  of  men  in  the  cities  in  other  parts  of  the  United  States 
by  no  means  guaranteed  victory  in  Boston.  They  were  apprehensive 
of  his  methods,  and  would  not  have  been  surprised  had  his  ministry 
there  been  an  utter  failure.  However,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
Methodist  preachers  of  the  city  who  had  heard  him  in  Cincinnati 
and  other  places,  was  enthusiastic  over  his  coming,  and  was  sure  of 
a  great  welcome  and  hearing  in  Boston.  The  pastors  of  other  Pro- 
testant churches  had  not  joined  in  the  invitation,  and  the  fact  that  he 
was  coming  under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist  churches  made  it 
possible  for  those  who  were  not  in  the  closest  sympathy  to  be  guilty 
of  denominational  jealousy.  It  made  the  task  much  greater  because 
other  denominations  were  not  united  in  his  coming.  These  minis- 
ters had  withheld  their  support,  because  they  felt  that  they  could 
not  endorse  Mr.  Jones  and  his  methods.  Mr.  Jones  obtained  the 
facts  as  to  the  conditions  of  affairs  in  the  city,  and  made  preparation 
for  the  campaign  according  to  the  conditions  existing  there.  Before 
reaching  the  city  he  knew  as  much  about  Boston  and  its  religious  at- 
mosphere as  some  of  the  oldest  residents  and  ministers  who  had  la- 
bored there  the  longest.    He  was  thoroughly  prepared  for  the  work. 

The  press  had  had  much  to  say  about  his  coming,  and  many  sto- 
ries had  been  published  of  his  work,  which  were  absurd  and  ridicu- 


256  Sam  P.  Jones. 

lous,  but,  nevertheless,  had  created  much  opposition  against  him. 
They  thought  that  the  refinement  of  Boston  iniquity  would  allow 
him  little  room  'to  vent  his  religious  wrath,'  and  that  his  sermon- 
matter  would  not  interest  and  amuse  his  audiences,  as  it  would  be 
far  below  their  standard  of  culture  and  intellectual  attainment.  The 
entire  situation  presented  a  psychological  study  of  the  deep,  re- 
ligious problems  and  of  the  preacher  who  was  tO'  deal  with  them. 
The  literati  of  Boston,  including  the  great  poets,  philosophers  and 
clergymen,  indulged  in  much  speculation  and  conjecture  as  to  how 
his  sermons  would  be  received. 

Phillips  Brooks  during  a  long  career  had  preached  in  his  great 
cathedral ;  Edward  Everette  Hale,  the  apostie  of  Unitarianism,  had 
spent  a  long  life  indoctrinating-  his  followers ;  the  renowned  Joseph 
Cook  had  stirred  and  thrilled  the  city  at  his  noonday  lectures;  the 
professors  and  dignitaries  of  Harvard  University  had  instructed  and 
cultured  the  citizenship  of  Boston ;  the  disrupting  and  disintegrating 
influences  of  Christian  Science,  occultism,  theosophy  and  every 
other  "ism"  had  been  hatched  out  in  the  city.  The  city,  religiously, 
was  the  greatest  conglomeration  of  "isms"  and  "ologies"  within  the 
bounds  of  the  United  States.  Just  how  the  plain,  simple,  fearless 
and  straightforward  preaching  of  Mr.  Jones  v/ould  impress  the 
crowd  was  a  situation  open  to  all  manner  of  conjecture. 

The  opening  service  was  held  in  the  People's  Temple,  the  largest 
and  most  commodious  Methodist  edifice  in  the  city.  The  building 
was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity  and  many  hundreds  were  turned 
away  at  the  first  service. 

When  he  was  presented  to  the  congregation  by  the  pastor,  he 
arose  and  began  his  ministry  just  like  he  had  done  in  every  other 
place.  As  was  frequently  his  custom,  when  the  people  had  come 
through  great  curiosity,  and  wanting  to  hear  rough  and  uncouth 
language,  he  completely  changed  his  style  and  delivered  some  of  his 
most  polished  and  elegant  utterances.  The  people,  from  the  impres- 
sions that  they  had  gathered,  were  expecting  to  see  an  uneducated 
and  unrefined  minister,  who  would  shock  them  and  amaise  them  with 
jokes  with  very  little  regard  as  to  his  subject-matter.  That  morn- 
ing his  language  was  chaste,  beautiful  and  abounding  in  choice  sim- 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  257 

iles-and  figures  that  were  a  surprise,  a  revelation  and  a  delight  to  his 
cultured  listeners.  Mr.  Jones,  who  was  always  keen  to  see  just  how 
his  messages  were  being  received,  was  somewhat  amused  as  he 
watched  the  expressions  that  played  over  the  faces  of  his  hearers; 
but  as  he  proceeded  his  earnestness  became  more  evident,  and  his 
words  fell  with  such  force  and  pungency  that  he  won  his  audience 
completely,  and  they  soon  forgot  their  early  attempts  to  analyze  him, 
and  were  lost  in  the  message  that  he  was  delivering.  Some  of  them 
w^ere  a  little  stiff  and  indifferent  at  first,  and  tried  to  throw  a 
damper  upon  his  fervency,  but  soon  yielded  to  his  spirit  and  became 
as  earnest  and  serious  in  receiving  the  Word  as  he  was  in  deliver- 
ing it. 

The  next  day  the  Boston  Globe  had  the  following  account  of  his 
first  appearance. 

"Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones  received  a  hearty  welcome  yesterday  at  the 
People's  Temple.  He  said  at  the  close  of  his  day's  work  that  he  had 
begun  to  feel  like  he  was  'somebody,'  because  of  the  cordial  reception 
given  him.  Said  he:  'I  felt  some  trepidation  in  coming  to  Boston, 
which  I  understood  was  the  city  of  cold  critics,  but  now  I  am  con- 
vinced that  the  people  of  this  city  have  not  only  brains,  but  very 
warm  hearts.  Now,  we  want  to  run  the  devil  out  of  Boston.  If  you 
people  think  that  the  devil  is  going  to  let  Boston  alone,  you  are  very 
much  mistaken.  I  didn't  come  here  to  look  at  its  good  side.  You 
have  looked  at  that  side  until  you  know  all  about  it.  I  want  3^ou  to 
see  the  other  side.'  [Laughter.]  'If  you  think  that  the  devil  is 
going  to  surrender  this  city  without  a  fight  you  don't  know  His 
Satanic  Majesty  as  I  do.  Let's  go  to  work  and  take  this  city  for 
Christ,  and  bombard  the  devil  out  of  it.  Now,  all  of  you  take  hold 
and  help,  and  don't  stand  off  and  criticise.  I  will  say  nothing  in 
Boston  without  a  purpose.  I'll  not  preach  like  these  other  preachers 
do,  because  there  is  no  use  for  me  to  do  as  other  men.'  " 

The  press  of  Boston  received  him  with  great  deference.  They 
spoke  of  him  very  kindly  in  their  editorials,  and  gave  space  for  full 
reports  of  his  sermons.  The  Globe  and  the  Herald  were  particularly 
courteous,  and  through  their  columns  he  was  enabled  to  speak  to 
many  thousands  of  people  throughout  New  England. 

Rev.  W.  N.  Brodbeck,  chairman  of  the  arrangem.ent  comimittee 


258  Sam  P.  Joni;S. 

for  the  evangelistic  services,  made  a  number  of  appointments  for- 
Mr.  Jones  in  different  parts  of  the  city.  Some  of  the  most  promi- 
nent places  were  Tremont  Street  Methodist  church,  Tremont  Tem- 
ple and  Faneuil  Hall.  Arrangements  were  also  made  for  him  to 
preach  to  the  ministers  of  the  city,  and  the  first  service  was  held 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Methodist  Social  Union.  Dr.  Brodbeck, 
of  the  Tremont  Street  church,  presided  and  introduced  him.  In  ac- 
knowledging the  honor  conferred  on  him,  he  created  much  merri- 
m.ent  as  he  related  an  incident  of  a  colored  servant  in  the  South 
whose  boasting  propensity  called  forth  a  rebuke  of  his  master,  who 
told  him  he  was  of  no-account  anyway,  and  to  which  Sambo  replied : 
"I  know  I'm  no  'count,  Massa,  but  I  belong  to  one  of  the  biggest 
families  in  old  Georgy."  "So  I  feel,"  said  he,  "as  I  look  in  the 
faces  of  you  ministers,  that  I,  too,  belong  to  one  of  God's  big  fami- 
lies." He  then  talked  to  them  of  the  movement  that  had  been  inau- 
gurated, and  urged  each  minister  to  assist  in  making  the  movement 
one  of  the  most  far-reaching  ever  held  in  Boston.  The  ministers  had 
never  heard  just  such  a  sermon  before,  and  were  completely  capti- 
vated by  the  address. 

At  all  the  night  services  the  People's  church  was  crowded  to  its 
limits.  The  day  services  held  at  the  other  churches  were  largely  at- 
tended. The  noonday  service  at  Faneuil  Hall  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  in  the  history  of  the  city.  In  the  "Cradle  of  Liberty" 
he  spoke  each  day  from  twelve  to  one  o'clock.  There  were  no  seats 
in  the  great  building  and  the  men  came  in,  some  in  business  clothes, 
many  of  them  in  butcher's  frocks,  and  market  men  in  their  aprons. 
The  men  stood  in  solid  mass  from  the  platform  back  to  the  entrance, 
while  the  gallery  was  full  of  men  and  women.  Some  of  his  best  ser- 
mons were  preached  on  these  occasions.  At  the  Tremont  Temple  he 
spoke  several  times  to  a  crowded  house  of  business  men,  ladies  and 
city  visitors.  The  most  intellectual  people  of  Boston  were  in  at- 
tendance upon  these  services.  Here's  where  the  world-renowned 
Joseph  Cook,  D.D.,  addressed  his  week-day  audiences.  The  sermon 
that  he  preached  to  the  audience  in  the  presence  of  Dr.  Cook  is  de- 
scribed in  an  interview  of  one  of  the  papers  with  Dr.  Cook.  The 
interviewer  asked  Dr.  Cook  his  impression  of  Mr.  Jones.     He  re— 


Sam  p.  Jones.  259 

plied  :  "I've  only  heard  him  twice,  but  I  can  say  this  much. "  He  is  a 
remarkable  man,  a  genius,  whose  words  are  sharp  and  incisive,  and 
he  is  earnest,  and  consecrated  to  his  work.  He  was  not  half  so 
rough  as  the  papers  had  represented  him.  His  sharp,  epigrammatic 
style  pleased  the  Bostonians,  and  interested  them  deeply.  Boston 
loves  intellectual  sprightliness,  and  Mr.  Jones  captured  them. 
Tremont  Temple,  where  I  heard  him,  was  crowded  from  pit  to 
dome  with  the  most  cultivated  people  of  Boston,  and  they  were 
moved  and  swayed  as  I  never  saw  them  before.  I  saw  there  great 
doctors  of  divinity  whom  I  could  not  move  either  to  smiles  or  tears, 
with  eyes  and  mouth  wide  open,  laughing  and  crying  under  Mr. 
Jones  as  they  would  do  for  no  one  else.  Mr.  Jones  has  completely 
captured  Boston." 

Mr.  Jones  gathered  up  the  impressions  made  at  these  extra  serv- 
ices, and  in  his  night  sermons  at  the  People's  church,  wdiere  the 
great  crowds  who  heard  him  at  these  special  hours  congregated;  in 
this  way  he  succeeded  in  focusing  the  attention  of  the  people  upon 
the  services  of  the  evening.  The  People's  church  became  the  center 
of  the  great  evangelistic  campaign.  At  each  meeting,  the  Lord  was 
present  and  the  people  were  deeply  and  pungently  convicted  of  sin, 
and  turned  to  the  Lord  in  great  numbers.  The  Bosion  Globe  said: 
"Probably  no  man  in  Boston  has  been  more  talked  about  in  the  last 
week  or  so  than  Rev.  Sam  Jones,  who  is  conducting  a  great  revival 
in  our  city.  There  was  a  time  when  the  question,  'What's  the  mat- 
ter with  him  ?'  was  asked  most  frequently  in  Boston,  and  the  answer 
was  always,  'He's  all  right.'  To-day  one  hears  most  frequently  the 
question,  'Have  you  heard  Sam  Jones  ?'  and  the  reply  is  almost  as 
invariably  made,  'Yes,  several  times.'  The  truth  of  the  matter  is, 
there  are  very  few  who  have  not  heard  him,  and  the  uniform  testi- 
mony is  that  he  interests  his  hearers.  There  never  were  such  meet- 
ings held  in  this  city,  not  even  those  of  Elder  Knapp,  George  Whit- 
field and  Dwight  L.  Moody  created  such  a  sensation.  Mr.  Jones  is 
original,  he  can  be  studied  to  advantage.  At  every  meeting,  almost, 
something  new  will  develop  in  his  striking  manner  which  acounts 
for  his  forcefulness.  His  success  is  due  to  a  composite  whole;  his 
work,  his  words,  his  methods  form  one  complex  system.     His  illus- 


260  Sam  P.  Joni;S. 

trations  are  riddles.  Until  he  approaches  the  close,,  no  one  knows  just 
how  they  will  turn,  and  sometimes  he  stops  a  laugh  by  a  sublime 
thought  that  will  start  tears  by  its  contrast  and  force.  There  is  but 
one  Sam  Jones." 

The  Herald  said:  "The  keen  wit,  sarcasm  and  apt  comparisons 
and  illustrations  of  Mr.  Jones  are  enjoyed  immensely.  In  the  most 
intense  manner  he  forces  the  plain  truth  upon  the  people.  All  the 
sermons  and  addresses  are  published  in  full  in  the  Herald,  Globe, 
Journal  and  some  other  daily  papers;  thus  tens  of  thousands  of 
people  are  getting  some  of  the  best  religious  reading  they  have  had 
for  many  years.  We  never  knew  of  such  a  widespread  interest  of 
religion  in  this  city  as  is  now  sweeping  over  it.  Hundreds  are 
seeking  God." 

The  Boston  Evangelical  Ministers'  Association,  which  included 
all  of  the  preachers  of  Boston,  and  a  large  number  in  adjoining- 
cities,  invited  him  to  preach  before  that  august  body  in  the  Tremont 
Temple. 

That  handsome  auditorium  was  well  filled  with  ministers  and 
Christian  workers  from  the  city,  and  prominent  clergymen  came  in 
from  all  parts  of  New  England.    Such  men  as  Joseph  Cook,  Bishop 
Phillips  Brooks,  Edward  Everette  Hale  and  hundreds  more  of  the 
most  prominent  ministers  were  present.     When  Mr.  Jones  was  in- 
troduced, he  slowly  walked  to  the  edge  of  the  platform  and  looked 
out  upon  the  most  remarkable  gathering  that  he  had  ever  seen. 
There  these  church  dignitaries  sat  erect,  stifif  and  cold,  as  if  they 
were  determined  not  to  yield  an  inch  while  he  proceeded  to  talk.    He 
spoke  in  a  conversational  voice,   that  those  near  by  could  hear 
each  word,  while  those  far  away  began  to  lean  forward  to  catch  what 
he  said.    On  and  on  he  went,  while  they  sat  there  like  statues.     He 
was  never  more  conscious  of  his  power  and  never  took  greater  delight 
in  addressing  an  audience  than  that  day,  when  the  theological  learn- 
ing and  scholarship  of  Boston  and  New  England  sat  at  his  feet.   See- 
ing his  opportunity,  he  made  a  thrust  or  two  at  them  with  some  of 
his  characteristic  drollery,  accompanying  it  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye, 
when  the  great  audience  unconsciously  broke  out  into  a  hearty  laugh. 
The  ice  had  been  broken,  and  epigrammatic  sayings  and  anecdotes, 


Sam  p.  Jonks.  261 

full  of  wit,  humor  and  sarcasm,  followed  each  other  in  rapid  succes- 
sion, until  the  audience  had  yielded  to  his  will,  and  were  swayed  as  if 
by  magic.  He  continued  to  preach  and  lecture  to  them  until  time 
was  lost  sight  of,  and  finally  he  stopped  and  pulled  his  watch  from 
his  pocket  and  said :  "Well,  brethren,  I  have  been  talking  something 
over  an  hour  to  you,  and  I  bring  this  address  to  a  close."  Shouts  of 
"go  on,  go  on,"  came  up  from  all  parts  of  the  building.  Then  he 
addressed  them  for  a  few  moments  with  deep  earnestness  and  pa- 
thos, closing  the  lecture  with  a  most  sublime  and  pathetic  ap- 
peal, which  brought  the  great  audience  to  tears,  and  amid  their 
sighs  and  sobs,  while  wiping  the  tears  from  their  eyes,  he  bade  them 
God-speed  in  their  work.  Such  an  ovation  followed  that  the  most 
distinguished  men  in  the  church  rushed  to  the  platform  and  gave 
him  a  hearty  handshake,  and  from  that  day,  he  had  the  complete 
sympathy  and  cooperation  of  the  ministers  of  Boston. 

The  meeting  continued  for  four  weeks,  and  in  the  regular  services 
for  the  mixed  audience  and  in  special  services  for  men  and  women, 
great  appeals  were  made  for  the  salvation  of  the  lost,  and  the  con- 
verts responded  freely. 

.The  last  meeting  held  for  the  men  at  Faneuil  Hall  was  crowded' 
as  before,  and  the  Boston  Globe  said :  "It  was  a  touching  scene  in 
old  Faneuil  Hall  yesterday  at  noon  when  Sam  Jones  closed  his  series 
of  talks  there  to  business  men.  He  had  just  been  describing  tlie 
heavenly  city  toward  which  he  was  bound,  the  city  with  the  pearly 
gates,  the  walls  of  Jasper,  the  streets  of  gold,  when  he  suddenly 
asked :  'AH  those  who  have  received  good  from  the  meetings  raise 
your  hands.'  Up  went  hundreds  of  bronzed  hands  without  the  hesi- 
tation of  a  moment.  Dr.  Brady  was  on  his  feet  in  an  instant,  saying : 
'All  you  who  want  to  meet  Mr.  Jones  in  heaven  put  up  your  hands 
again.'  Nearly  every  person  present,  the  butcher,  the  baker,  the 
candlestick-maker,  the  man  in  worn-out  clothes,  and  good  clothes, 
shot  his  arm  upward  into  the  air  with  eagerness  and  earnestness. 
The  ladies  in  the  gallery  arose  to  their  feet,  expressing  the  same  de- 
sire. Such  a  scene  had  never  been  witnessed  within  the  walls  of  the 
historic  building." 

The  closing  meeting  was  held  on  Sunday  in  the  Mechanics  Hall.- 


262  Sam  P.  Joni:s. 

The  great  hall  would  accommodate  between  ten  and  twelve  thou- 
sand. The  press  said :  "The  magic  of  Sam  Jones's  name  drew  an 
audience  to  Mechanics  Hall  to  listen  to  his  shrewd,  quaint  and  inimi- 
table style  of  address  that  could  only  be  estimated  by  the  seating 
capacity  of  the  immense  building.  Whatever  that  may  be,  it  was 
demonstrated  that  the  hall  wasn't  big  enough  to  hold  all  who  desired 
to  hear  Sam  Jones.  A  multitude  of  people  stood  up  during  the 
services,  and  several  thousand  were  altogether  unable  to  gain  ad- 
mission to  the  hall.  It  is  undoubtedly  true,  as  was  remarked  by  a 
member  of  the  committee  having  charge  of  the  service,  that  no  place 
less  spacious  than  'The  Commons'  would  furnish  ample  accommo- 
dations for  one  of  the  audiences  of  Sam  Jones. 

"Standing  before  this  sea  of  faces,  which  seemed  to  extend  far 
into  the  distance,  ]\Ir.  Jones  preached  his  farewell  sermon  on  'Con- 
science, Record,  and  God.'  "  This  closed  his  first  and  great  meeting 
in  Boston. 

Just  ten  years  later,  1897,  Mr.  Jones  returned  to  Boston  and  con- 
ducted another  revival.  In  front  of  the  People's  church  was  this 
sign: 

"The  Wonder  of  the  Ages,  Sam  P.  Jones." 

The  services  were  held  in  practically  the  same  churches,  and  the 
same  way  as  at  the  previous  meeting.  The  meeting  continued  for 
nearly  three  weeks,  and  was  as  remarkable  in  power  and  as  far- 
reaching  in  results,  if  not  surpassing,  that  of  1887.  ,  In  his  second 
visit,  as  well  as  the  first,  he  was  never  received  more  cordially  and 
supported  more  loyally,  and  did  a  greater  work,  than  in  Boston. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


On  the  Pacific  Coast. 

/. — Los  Angeles. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  accompany  Mr.  Jones  to  the  Pacific  coast. 
We  took  our  four  children  and  nurse,  and  had  a  safe  and  pleasant 
journey,  arriving  in  Los  Angeles,  California,  on  January  13,  1889. 

The  first  meeting  that  he  conducted  was  in  Los  Angeles,  and 
upon  our  arrival  in  that  city  we  were  entertained  at  the  Westminster 
Hotel.  Mr.  E.  O.  Excell  and  wife  joined  us  there.  W^e  were  given  a 
most  cordial  welcome  to  the  "City  of  Angels,"  which  is  situated  in 
an  original  and  genuine  earthly  Paradise. 

The  great  daily  papers  had  hailed  his  coming  with  delight,  and 
the  ministry  was  enthusiastic  over  his  proposed  work.  For  months 
there  had  been  an  urgent  request  for  his  services,  and  the  people 
seemed  to  be  glad  of  his  coming.  We  had  hardly  reached  our  room 
when  the  Tribune  reporter  called  upon  Mr.  Jones.  As  was  his  cus- 
tom, he  greeted  the  reporter  with  courtesy,  and  showed  his  sympa- 
thy and  appreciation  of  the  work  of  the  public  press.  He  wished  to 
know  if  this  was  Mr.  Jones's  first  visit  to  California,  and  Mr.  Jones 
said :  "Yes,  this  is  the  first  time  I  was  ever  on  this  coast,  but  my 
wife  and  I  were  out  for  a  walk  this  morning,  and  do  you  know 
everything  seems  like  a  dream  in  the  city  ?"  The  reporter  said :  "Mr. 
Jones,  you  rank  at  the  head  of  American  evangelists  in  the  estima- 
tion of  our  people."  "Well,"  said  he,  "I  don't  know  about  my  rank 
being  at  the  head.  I  am  not  an  evangelist  in  the  sense  that  Munhall, 
Moody  and  others  are,  I  belong  to  the  North  Georgia  Conference, 
and  received  my  appointment  like  any  other  preacher,  which  at  the 
present  time  is  the  agency  of  the  Decatur  Orphanage.  I  can  raise 
the  money  for  this  worthy  institution  while  prosecuting  my  evan- 
gelistic work  wherever  I  am  called  in  the  providence  of  God.     For  ■ 

(263) 


264  Sam  P.  Jones. 

years  I  preached  in  the  conference,  but  was  hterally  drawn  out  into 
this  work."  "The  report  has  been  circulated  in  this  city,"  said  the 
reporter,  "that  you  never  go  anywhere  without  a  large  and  stipulated 
salary."  "Well,  that's  not  true;  at  Chautauqua  assemblies  and  East- 
ern camp-meetings,  where  there  is  a  regular  admission  fee  charged 
I  receive  a  stated  amount  of  money  for  my  services.  In  such  cases 
I  always  contend  that  a  white  elephant  is  worth  the  fence  around  it. 
I  never  have  required  any  stipulated  sum  for  my  services  as  an 
evangelist."  "What  is  the  difference  in  your  success  in  different 
sections  of  the  country?"  "Well,  I  find  the  people  differing  wher- 
ever I  go ;  more  depends  upon  the  size  of  the  city  than  its  location. 
I  have  been  successful  in  the  great  cities  of  the  South,  in  Cincin- 
nati, Chicago,  Toronto  and  Boston,  and  in  all  these  places  the  build- 
ings were  inadequate  to  accommodate  the  throngs  that  came  to  hear 
me.  You  can  bite  an  apple,  but  a  pumpkin  you  can  only  nibble  and 
slobber  over.  Charleston,  S.  C,  was  an  apple'.  I  spoke  to  five  thou- 
sand people,  one-tenth  of  the  population,  and  through  that  tenth  I 
could  have  some  influence  on  the  whole,  but  Chicago  is  a  pumpkin. 
It  is  unwieldy  and  bulky.  Boston  is  of  a  different  type,  but  there  the 
people  will  hear  any  man  who  has  something  to  say,  and  there  is  no 
better  field  for  evangelism  than  Boston."  "What  is  your  opinion 
of  the  work  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association?"  "It  is  a 
well-organized  body,  but,  like  many  churches,  the  Association  could 
do  a  great  deal  niore  than  it  does.  It  is  a  magnificent  engine,  but 
frequently  without  steam ;  however,  I  have  shown  my  interest  in  the 
work  of  aiding  them  wherever  I  have  gone  and  help  was  needed,  in 
raising  money  to  put  them  on  a  safe  basis." 

In  arranging  for  the  meeting  the  committee  had  fixed  up  the  great 
pavilion,  and  had  everything  suitably  arranged.  Mr.  Excell  had  an 
excellent  choir,  which  rendered  many  beautiful  selections.  Rev.  Dr. 
Cantine  acted  as  master  of  ceremonies,  and  introduced  Mr.  Jones. 
At  the  first  service  the  building  was  filled  with  over  five  thousand 
people,  and  at  least  that  many  were  turned  away.  On  account  of 
some  of  the  sensational  newspaper  articles  there  was  a  wide  differ- 
ence of  opinion  by  the  clergy  and  the  people,  and  much  speculation 
in  general,  as  to  how  he  would  be  received.     Mr.  Jones  with  his 


Sam  p.  Jones.  265 

matchless  instinct  for  sizing  up  an  audience,  seemed  to  know  that  he 
was  on  trial,  and  that  a  number  of  people  had  come,  not  to  hear  the 
gospel,  but  to  see  if  the  things  that  had  been  published  about  him 
were  true.  Those  who  had  come  to  laugh,  scoff  and  pick  flaws  in 
the  preacher  were  foiled  of  their  opportunity,  as  he  preached  one  of 
the  most  serious  sermons,  abounding  in  beautiful  figures  and  touch- 
ing incidents,  from  the  text,  "Choose  ye  this  day  whom  ye  will 
serve;  as  for  me  and  my  house,  we  will  serve  the  Lord."  Joshua 
15:24. 

The  audience  went  away  somewhat  disappointed  in  that  there  was 
nothing  to  criticise,  but  deeply  impressed  with  the  service.  He  took 
occasion  to  put  the  people  on  notice  as  to  his  attitude  regarding  the 
objections  that  had  been  raised  to  revivals.  Said  he :  "Some  of  j^ou 
have  been  asking  if  revivals  don't  react.  Yes,  they  do,  just  like  a 
man's  stomach  reacts  after  a  big  dinner,  and  he  wants  another  din- 
ner the  next  day,  but  that's  no  sign  that  he  is  going  to  stop  eating ; 
it's  no  sign  because  you  had  the  first  revival  that  you  don't  want  and 
need  another  one.  As  I  walked  through  your  streets  this  morning, 
I  was  charmed,  and  said  to  myself,  'How  can  sinners  flourish  where 
God  empties  heaven  every  day  upon  them,'  and,  with  the  poet,  I 
thought  'every  prospect  is  pleasing,  and  only  man  is  vile.'  Now, 
some  of  you  fellows  will  say,  'Sam  is  bidding  for  a  home.'  Well, 
bud,  I  have  turned  down  homes  all  over  this  country,  and  had 
rather  live  in  my  little  home  at  Cartersville,  Ga.,  than  anywhere  011 
earth.  When  the  devil  has  nothing  else  to  do,  he  seems  to  start  his 
agent  to  lying  about  Sam  Jones.  I  don't  care,  go  it ;  if  you  can  say 
worse  things  about  me  than  I  can  about  you,  lam'  in.  Stagnation 
is  the  last  station  this  side  of  damnation,  and  the  fellow  who  gets 
there  generally  goes  through." 

He  said  in  closing:  "Brethren,  I  want  to  see  a  great  work  done 
here  in  Los  Angeles.  I  have  not  come  for  fun  nor  money.  I  have 
prayed  God  to  make  me  a  power  to  bring  souls  to  Christ,  and  I  hope 
before  next  Sunday  there  will  be  a  blaze  of  revival ;  that  this  city  will 
be  made  as  lovely  in  morals  as  it  is  in  climate  and  surroundings." 

The  papers  became  very  bitter,  and  even  scurrilous  in  their  criti- 
cisms, both  editorially  and  reportorially ;    however,  this  opposition 


^QQ  Sam  P.  Jones. 

was  soon  overcome,  and  the  papers  supported  him  loyally,  and  gave 
the  meeting  eveiy  consideration.  One  of  them  said :  "Los  Angeles 
is  one  of  the  least  wicked  and  most  exemplary  places.  The  entire 
community  supports  more  churches  in  proportion  to  its  population, 
and  nowhere  is  divine  worship  more  popular,  but  even  Los  Angeles 
is  not  so  thoroughly  good  that  it  does  not  need  to  be  stirred  up  once 
in  a  while  by  a  broad-gauged,  old-fashioned  revival  of  religion.  We 
blush  to  own  it,  but  it  is  an  undeniable  fact  that  the  worship  of 
Mammon  in  this  city  has  had  about  seven  days  in  every  week  for 
the  past  years,  and  if  this  shameful  state  of  affairs  can  be  changed 
by  Mr.  Jones,  there  will  be  great  improvement  in  both  private  and 
public  morals.  We  have  no  doubt  that  the  present  revival  will  con- 
tinue to  accomplish  a  great  deal  of  good,  and  that  men  who  have 
murdered  will  confess,  who  have  defrauded  will  make  restitution, 
and  that  thousands  will  form  resolutions  to  forsake  their  evil  ways." 

Mr.  Jones  waged  a  merciless  war  upon  card-playing,  dancing  and 
theater-going,  which  brought  upon  him  the  condemnation  of  the 
society  element.  A  charity  ball  which  had  been  given  during  the 
meeting  was  denounced  in  the  most  severe  terms,  and  the  papers 
which  had  recently  been  loud  in  his  praises  turned  against  him 
again,  and  with  renewed  vigor  resorted  to  all  kinds  of  methods  in 
order  to  injure  him  and  destroy  his  influence.  They  garbled  the  re- 
ports of  his  sermons,  and  wrote  flaming  editorials  which  fanned  into 
a  short-lived  flame  a  wave  of  popular  resentment.  Some  of  the  pa- 
pers deliberately  printed  statements  and  credited  them  to  Mr.  Jones 
which,  were  absolutely  false.  As  the  opposition  grew  in  intensity 
Mr.  Jones's  denunciation  became  more  fierce,  until  they  were  won 
back  by  his  bravery. 

The  Los  Angeles  Christian  Advocate  had  an  editorial  which  gives 
a  fine  account  of  the  battle  between  Mr.  Jones  and  the  newspapers, 
and  the  subsequent  result :  "We  have  never  heard  so  much  religious 
discussion  as  has  been  aroused  by  the  Sam  Jones  meetings,  and  the 
devil  and  his  emissaries  have  been  completely  stirred  up.  Two  sa- 
loon-keepers have  been  heard  to  say  that  they  would  give  big  money 
to  get  a  chance  to  give  Sam  Jones  a  thrashing,  and  undoubtedly  all 
the  mean,  corrupt,  dishonest  and  contemptible  villains  of  the  city 


Sam  p.   ToxNe:s.  267 

would  like  to  contribute  to  that  fund.  The  Times  and  Herald^  two 
of  our  dailies,  have  tried  to  make  themselves  popular  with  the  saloon 
and  hoodlum  crowd  by  misrepresenting  and  distorting  the  evangel- 
ist's utterances,  and  by  publishing  editorial  criticisms  that  showed 
their  gross  ignorance  and  malignity  of  spirit.  Of  course,  these  ad- 
verse criticisms  have  only  advertised  the  meetings  more  extensively, 
and  the  witty  sentences  of  the  evangelist  in  reply  have  made  these 
papers  the  laughing-stock  of  the  city.  The  Times  went  so  far  as 
to  change  the  reports  of  one  of  Mr.  Jones's  sermons  fur- 
nished them  by  a  reporter  in  their  employ,  and  when  the  reporter 
discovered  their  contemptible  practices  he  immediately  left  their  em- 
ploy. A  great  number  of  good  people  have,  notified  the  Times  that 
they  do  not  want  the  paper  any  more  in  their  home.  The  Herald 
was  first  sulky,  and  then  came  out  in  open  opposition  to  the  meeting 
in  one  issue,  making  desperate  assault  upon  Air.  Jones.  The  editor 
was  drunk  on  the  streets  that  very  day,  which  may  account  for  it. 
Like  the  Times,  the  Herald's  opposition  has-  cost  it  several  hundred 
subscribers,  and  other  patronage  amounting  to  several  hundred  dol- 
lars a  year.  The  Social  JVorld,  a  society  paper,  in  favor  of  card- 
playing,  theater-going,  dancing  and  drinking,  said  in  its  Saturday 
issue :  'Sam  Jones  ought  to  be  ridden  out  of  Los  Angeles  on  a  rail.' 
That  sentence  was  the  last  kick  of  a  dying  goose.  On  Wednesday 
the  sheriff  sold  out  the  establishment,  and  the  only  mourners  were 
the  creditors  of  the  concern."  Thus  it  would  seem  that  it  was  not 
profitable  to  oppose  the  onw^ard  march  of  the  gospel  truths,  even 
from  a  secular  standpoint.  Mr.  Jones  kept  up  his  war  against  all 
kinds  of  sin,  preaching  three  times  daily.  He  seldom  dignified  the 
individuals  and  newspapers  who  fought  him  with  more  than  a  few 
witty  words  spoken  before  the  beginning  of  his  sermon,  but  at  times 
he  administered  such  stinging  rebukes  that  his  audiences  burst  out  in 
uproarious  applause,  thereby  showing  their  approval  of  the  stand  he 
had  taken,  and  disapprobation  of  those  who  were  fighting  him.  It 
wasn't  long  until  all  the  papers  came  back  to  his  support,  and  were 
friendly  to  him  to  the  end. 

Mr.  Jones  remained  in  the  city  for  four  weeks,  and  his  tireless 
efforts  were  abundantly  blessed  of  God  in  the  salvation  of  the  people. 


268  '  Sam  P.  Jon^s. 

The  reporters  interviewed  the  leading  theatrical  managers,  most 
prominent  saloon-keepers,  and  managers  of  the  largest  beer-gardens 
as  to  the  results  of  the  meeting  on  their  business.  They  all  said  in 
substance  :  "We  are  certainly  getting  the  worst  of  this ;  our  receipts 
in  the  evening  have  diminished  terribly  since  the  crowds  began  to  go 
down  to  the  pavilion.  Frequently  they  used  to  come  to  our  places, 
but  now  they  go  to.  hear  Sam  Jones  and  then  hom.e.  We'll  be  glad 
when  he  leaves  town.  Reforms  have  been  effected  and  impression 
made  upon  the  city  that  can  not  cease." 

His  closing  sermon  was  delivered  on  the  evening  of  February  6th. 
Long  before  the  hour  of  service,  thousands  were  being  turned  away 
from  the  doors.  Never  had  such  an  ovation  been  given  any  man 
before.  At  the  close,  thousands  went  up  and  shook  hands  with  the 
evangelist,  and  during  the  singing  of  "God  be  with  you  till  we  meet 
again,"  the  great  audience  stood  there  and  wept  like  children. 

An  editorial  in  the  Tribune  the  following  morning  said :  "Rev. 
Sam  Jones  has  been  successful  not  alone  in  attracting  the  largest 
audiences  that  have  been  seen  in  Los  Angeles,  but  he  has  also  been 
successful  in  making  converts.  Nearly  one  thousand  persons  have 
professed  Christianity  under  his  ministry.  The  interest  has  not  de- 
creased a  particle,  but  on  the  contrary,  increased  till  the  last." 

As  he  left  that  day  for  Sacramento,  thousands  of  people  went  to 
the  train  and  expressed  a  feeling  of  deep  regret  at  his  departure 
from  the  city. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 


On  the  Pacific  Coast  (Continued). 

//. — Sacramento. 

From  Los  Angeles  he  went  to  Sacramento  and  began  a  meeting 
-on  February  nth  under  the  auspices  of  the  Ministerial  Alliance  of 
that  city.  The  ministers  and  laymen  who  were  instrumental  in 
bringing  him  to  Sacramento  called  upon  him,  and  gave  him 
the  status  of  affairs  of  the  city.  There  was  some  apprehension 
on  their  part  as  to  the  safety  of  Mr.  Jones,  in  case  he  should  preach 
as  plainly  as  he  did  at  Los  Angeles.  They  told  him  of  the  great 
weakness  of  the  place,  and  of  some  threats  that  had  already  been 
made.  They  warned  him  about  turning  his  guns  upon  a  certain  ele- 
ment in  the  city.  After  having  laid  the  capital  city  before  him  as 
one  of  the  worst,  they  said  there  were  rhen  there  who  w^ould  not 
hesitate  to  kill  him  should  he  preach  on  their  sins.  He  received  the 
warning  with  a  smile  and  said :  "I  am  no  respecter  of  persons.  I 
have  preached  my  convictions  all  over  this  country,  and  I  shall  not 
change  my  style  in  Sacramento.  If  they  get  mad  with  me  for 
w^anting  to  clean  up  this  old  town,  and  think  it  best  to  kill  me,  they 
only  give  me  a  short  cut  to  heaven.  I  want  you  to  know  that  you 
can't  put  a  muzzle  on  the  mouth  of  your  Uncle  Jones,  and  I  shall 
not  be  scared  away  from  my  duty." 

On  Sunday  at  three  o'clock  the  first  service  was  held  in  the 
Armory  Plall.  Rev.  A.  T.  Needham  opened  the  service  with  prayer 
and  introduced  Mr.  Jones.  After  the  introduction  Mr.  Jones  arose 
and  said :  "We  are  in  this  city  for  the  purpose  of  holding  services 
for  some  time  to  come.  We  have  been  invited  to  your  city  by  the 
pastors  of  your  churches,  and  we  are  here  with  the  promise  of  hearty 
cooperation  of  the  people  and  preachers.  We  are  in  the  interest 
of  right,  humanity  .and  God;    the  interest  of  eveiy  good  citizen, 

(269) 


270  Sam  P.  Jones. 

good  mother,  and  virtuous  daughter  hes  close  in  our  hearts.  May 
my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth  and  my  right  hand  lose 
its  cunning  if  I,  in  your  city  or  elsewhere,  shall  ever  advocate  any- 
thing but  right  or  denounce  anything  but  wrong.  We  are  not  here 
to  discuss  isms  and  dogmas,  but  to  learn  what  is  right,  and  then 
do  it.  I  was  disheartened  in  talking  with  your  pastors.  They  said 
that  there  were  forty  thousand  people  in  the  city;  four  hundred 
saloons,  and  ten  churches ;  that  an  average  of  three  hundred  at 
each  church  w^as  a  fine  audience.  Four  hundred  drinking  places 
to  supply  the  people  with  liquor  and  damnation,  and  ten  churches 
to  supply  them  with  salvation.  Three  thousand  people  go  to  church, 
and  thirty-seven  thousand  do  not.  I  am  simply  talking  facts;  not 
of  my  own  making,  but  what  your  pastor  gave  me ;  you  must  know 
that  I  believe  in  God,  and  in  His  power,  or  I  would  have  taken  the 
first  train  out  of  this  towTi  last  night.  God  has  said  one  man  can 
chase  a  thousand  and  twO'  can  put  ten  thousand  to^  flight,  therefore, 
we  won't  be  discouraged,  because  it  will  only  take  about  four  men, 
good  and  true,  to  clean  up  the  whole  city  for  God.  [Applause.] 
While  you  are  here  by  the  thousands  this  afternoon,  I  am  told  that 
you  are  not  coming  to  these  meetings.  I  don't  know  wdiether  you 
will  or  not,  and,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned,  I  don't  care  whether  you 
do  or  not.  I  have  been  preaching  to  large  audiences  for  so  long 
that  it  would  be  a  real  rest  to  preach  to  a  small  crowd  for  awhile, 
therefore,  if  you  don't  want  tO'  come  here  just  come  around  to  my 
room  at  the  Golden  Eagle  Hotel  and  I  will  write  you  out  a  permit, 
bud,  to  stay  away."  Then  he  announced  his  text  and  preached  a 
sermon  that  completely  captured  the  audience.  He  had  much  to 
say  against  the  saloons  and  other  dens  of  vice  in  his  first  sermon. 
The  devil,  he  declared,  with  all  his  power,  can  not  do  anything 
unless  he  can  get  some  one  to  help  him,  but  he  has  all  the  help  he 
wants  in  this  town.  Here  are  forty  saloon-keepers  to-  each  preacher. 
The  devil  ought  to  be  satisfied  with  that.  The  devil  doesn't  make 
liquor,  but  he  gets  some  fellow  to  make  it  for  him ;  he  doesn't  sell, 
but  he  gets  some  of  you  rascals  to  do  it  for  him ;  he  doesn't  make 
gamblers.  He  has  some  of  the  church-members  to  sit  down  and 
teach  your  children  to  play  cards  at  home,  and  make  gamblers  in 


Saai   p.  J  ones.  271 

that  way.  He  jnst  walks  around  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets  and 
gets  you  fellows  to  do  what  he  wants  done  here  in  this  city.  Now, 
it  don't  make  any  difference  to  me  whether  you  are  the  governor  of 
this  city  or  the  biggest  fellow  in  it ;  I  am  going  to  pour  the  biggest 
shot  I  have  in  my  pouch  into  you  before  I  leave  here,  I  shall  shoot 
right  into  the  hole  where  you  are.  I  know  you'll  come  out  a-hump- 
ing,  declaring  you  weren't  in  there,  but  how  are  you  going  to  ex- 
plain being  shot  all  to  pieces,  you  idiot  you?  Now,"  said  he,  "I 
want  those  of  you  who  desire  to  change  your  ways,  and  believe 
I  am  right  about  these  things,  to  stand  up."  In  response  to  his  re- 
quest the  audience  rose  almost  en  masse. 

The  audience  that  attended  the  evening  service  was  still  larger; 
while  no  more  could  be  crowded  into  the  building,  thousands  were 
turned  away.  For  three  weeks  these  great  audiences  waited  upon 
his  ministr}^  and  some  of  the  most  denunciatory  sermons  he  ever 
delivered  fell  from  his  lips  in  Sacramento.  Being  the  "Capital  City" 
of  the  State,  the  corrupt  politicians  had  dominated  the  city  until 
its  corruption  was  something  intolerable.  In  referring  to  it  he  said : 
"Let  me  tell  you,  a  city  like  this  could  never  have  reached  the 
depth  of  corruption  and  infamy  without  some  men  here  making  a 
record  that  the  devil  himself  would  be  ashamed  of.  You  political 
bosses,  you  municipal  and  county  bosses,  and  your  henchmen,  the 
damnable  record  that  you  are  writing  is  enough  to  make  every 
decent  citizen  in  the  city  rise  up  and  say,  by  the  grace  of  God  the 
thing  has  gone  far  enough.  [Applause  and  a  voice,  'you're  right']  ; 
and  when  a  few  of  you  church-members  get  backbone  and  speak 
your  convictions  this  crowd  is  going  to  stop,  beg  your  pardon  and 
say,  'Wq  didn't  know  you  objected  at  all.'  Infamy  was  never  brave. 
Cowardice  is  the  foundation  upon  which  these  scoundrels  stand. 
[Applause.]  What  is  your  record  as  a  member  of  the  Legislature 
now  in  session  [applause]  ;  now,  some  of  you  need  not  be  clapping 
}our  hands,  for  I  can  find  fifty  of  you  rascals  in  this  town  to  one 
in  the  Legislature."  [The  legislators  applauded.]  "Now,  you  fel- 
lows needn't  applaud,  because  the  only  reason  I  can  find  fifty  rascals 
in  town  to  one  in  the  Legislature  is  because  there  are  more  people 
in  the  town.     I  can  take  the  record  of  some  of  you  legislators  and. 


272  Sam  P.  Jones. 

with  the  laws  of  CaHfornia,  consign  you  to  the  penitentiary  before 
to-morrow  night.  Think  of  it — a  man  in  the  Legislature  that 
ought  to  be  in  the  penitentiary.  A  lawmaker  the  worst  lawbreaker 
in  the  land.  No  wonder  California  is  steeped  in  lawlessness  and 
crime,  when  its  Legislature  furnishes  its  pro  rata  of  lawbreakers. 
Take,  for  instance,  that  body  on  the  liquor  question.  There  is  not. 
a  member  that  doesn't  own  that  this  traffic  is  cursing  the  country. 
If  you  haven't  this  much  sense,  you  haven't  enough  to  be  in  the 
Legislature.  You  ought  to  be  in  the  insane  asylum  instead  of 
where  you  are.  The  idea  of  wanting  to  enforce  upon  this  town, 
and  other  towns  in  the  State  a  liquor  law  putting  license  down  to 
eighty-four  dollars  per  year.  I  believe  a  legislator  that  will  de- 
liberately vote  such  a  law  is  owned  body  and  soul  by  the  liquor- 
dealers.  May  God  stir  up  every  preacher  and  every  citizen  in  this 
whisky-soaked  city  and  put  an  end  to  this  infernal  traffic.  If  every 
Sitave  in  a  whisky  barrel  in  this  town  could  be  turned  into  a  wing, 
every  one  of  you  could  pin  two  on  your  shoulders  and  fly  off  to  the 
Lord.  You  are  the  most  corrupted  people  by  liquor  I  have  ever 
seen.  A  decent  man  came  to  this  town  the  other  day  and  looked 
around  and  said :  'I  won't  bring  my  wife  and  children  to  a  town 
where  there  are  ten  churches  and  four'  hundred  saloons.'  Then 
your  faro-banks  and  gambling-dens  are  wide  open.  How  can  a 
miayor,  who  svv'cars  to  execute  the  law,  and  the  chief  of  police,  who 
takes  his  oath  of  office,  sleep  at  night  with  the  consciousness  that  the 
law  is  overridden  and  this  town  is  debauched?  If  I  were  mayor 
of  this  place  I  would  put  the  gamblers  and  saloon-keepers  where 
they  would  have  to  obey  the  law.  But  your  mayor  hasn't  any  back- 
bone, just  a  little  string  run  up  his  back,  with  a  few  ribs  hitched 
to  it.  It  is  dangerous  for  men  to  walk  the  streets  at  night.  When 
I  was  in  St.  Louis  I  thought  that  was  the  most  wicked  city  I  ever 
saw,  but  if  hell  is  due  west  from  St.  Louis,  I  think  you  are  just 
about  twenty-five  hundred  miles  nearer  to  it.  'My!'  you  say,  'I 
have  never  been  talked  to  this  way  before' ;  well,  what  are  you  going 
to  do  about  it?  You  say  you  are  going  to  drum  Sam  Jones  out  of 
town.  Well,  boys,  I've  got  the  drum,  and  I  w^on't  lend  it  to  you." 
This  was  one  of  the  most  terrific  sennons  that  Mr.    Jones  ev^er 


Sam  p.  Jones.  273 

preached,  and  the  audience  was  at  first  full  of  resentment,  but  was 
changed  to  conviction  before  he  finished.  The  people  went  away 
admiring  his  bravery,  and  more  interested  than  ever  in  his  ministry. 

It  was  noised  abroad  that  schemes  had  been  concocted  to  assas- 
sinate Mr.  Jones.  He  had  taken  his  life  in  his  own  hands,  and  had 
faithfully  proclaimed  the  truths  of  God.  Just  before  going  to  the 
evening  service  the  next  day  a  committee  came  to  the  hotel  and 
told  Mr.  Jones  that  there  were  men  waiting  at  the  door  to  shoot 
him  as  he  started  to  the  building,  but  with  his  dauntless  courage  and 
faith  in  God,  he  looked  at  me  and  said:  "Wife,  don't  you  know 
that  God  will  take  care  of  me  and  protect  me  as  long  as  I  am  doing 
my  duty."  He  deliberately  walked  down  the  stairway,  refusing 
the  protection  of  friends  and  officers,  and  went  out  of  the  hotel.  He 
proceeded  to  his  carriage,  and  as  he  took  his  seat  he  turned  to  one 
of  the  men  and  said:  "If  I  live  until  one  of  those  cowardly  scoun- 
drels shoot  me,  I  will  make  old  Methuselah  look  like  a  plumb  baby 
by  the  side  of  me."  Upon  reaching  the  Armory  Hall,  where  the 
immense  crowd  had  assembled,  he  continued  his  fearless  preaching 
as  if  no  opposition  existed. 

One  of  the  papers,  the  Bee,  continued  its  denunciation  of  Mr. 
Jones  and  his  work,  but  he  soon  turned  the  table  on  the  editor, 
saying:  "I  can't  see  for  the  life  of  me  how  you  call  yourselves 
civilized  and  will  allow  that  vicious  little  sheet  to  be  thrown  into 
your  front  yard.  I  would  just  as  soon  have  a  mad  dog  turned 
loose  in  my  front  yard  to  bite  my  children.  The  dog  could  only 
kill  the  poor  little  bodies,  but  a  vicious  thing  like  that  dirty  little 
sheet  will  cause  them  to  lose  regard  for  religion  and  wreck  them 
body  and  soul  for  both  worlds."  Applause,  after  his  arraignment  of 
the  Bee  was  long  and  definite.  The  fate  of  the  paper  was  not  long 
in  writing,  as  it  was  a  sad  one  to  its  editor  and  owners,  but  a  relief 
to  the  city. 

The  meeting  in  Sacramento,  in  many  respects,  was  not  what 
might  be  termed  a  great  one  in  converting  souls;  while  hundreds 
were  brought  into  the  church,  nevertheless,  in  waking  up  the  con- 
sciences of  the  city  and  in  purifying  its  morals  it  was  most  re- 
markable. His  ministry  led  the  people  to  demand  from  their  offi- 
10  j 


274  Sam  P.  JoN:es. 

cials  the  enforcement  of  their  laws,  and  when  the  meeting  closed 
there  were  no  open  gambling-places,  and  the  laws  regarding  the 
Sunday  saloons  were  enforced.  Thousands  stood  up  at  the  closing 
service  and  testified  that  they  had  started  for  a  better  life,  and  hun- 
dreds gave  evidence  of  genuine  conversion. 

At  the  end  of  four  weeks  he  closed  his  remarkable  work  and 
moved  on  to  San  Francisco. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


On  the  Pacific  Coast  (Continued). 

///. — Sail  Francisco. 

San  Francisco  was  the  last  city  Mr.  Jones  visited  on  the  Pacific 
coast.  The  great  metropohs  afforded  a  very  inviting  field  for  his 
work.  The  committee  in  charge  of  the  meetings  offered  us  our 
choice  of  hotels  and  Mr.  Jones  selected  the  Occidental,  because  it 
was  more  of  a  famil}^  hotel,  where  he  could  be  quiet. 

The  Mechanics'  Pavilion  had  been  arranged  for  the  revival.  It 
would  accommodate  five  thousand  people.  Mr.  E.  O.  Excell  led  the 
large  choir,  and  the  services  were  full  of  interest  from  the  very  be- 
ginning. J.  D.  Hammond,  agent  of  the  Western  Methodist  Book 
Concern  and  editor  of  their  church  paper,  had  been  instrumental  in 
bringing  Mr.  Jones  to  the  Far  West.  At  the  first  service  he  was  in 
charge,  and  presented  the  evangelist  to  the  audience. 

The  three  lading  papers.  The  Chronicle,  The  Call  and  The  Ex- 
aminer, had  been  discussing  pro  and  con  his  meetings  in  Los  An- 
geles and  Sacramento.  In  their  editorial  and  press  notices  they  had 
stirred  up  very  much  curiosity  and  interest  in  the  meeting.  The 
pavilion  was  crowded  at  the  first  service,  and  Mr.  Jones  preached 
his  most  sympathetic  and  powerful  sermon  on  John  3:16:  "For  God 
so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave  His  only  begotten  Son  that  who- 
soever believeth  in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life."  The  first  sermon  was  unlike  what  the  audience  had  ex- 
pected; so  full  of  elegant  and  chaste  language,  so  much  tenderness 
and  pathos,  that  the  people  were  unable  to  pick  a  flaw  in  his  ut- 
terances. 

Monday  morning  each  of  the  papers  had  full  accounts  of  the 
first  service,  and  had  given  a  description  of  Mr.  Jones  and  estimates 
of  his  character  and  work.     The  Chronicle  said :    "Sam  Jones  has 

(275) 


276  Sam  P.  JonKS. 

arrived;  has  talked;  has  conquered.  San  Francisco,  modern  and 
ancient,  good,  bad  and  otherwise,  filled  the  seats  in  the  Pavilion  at 
both  services  on  Sunday.  He  is  a  small,  wiry-lool<;ing  man,  with  a 
firm  jaw,  sallow  complexion,  black  mustache,  coal-black  hair  high 
on  a  rather  narrow  forehead,  finely  lined  eyebrows,  and  hands  as 
small  and  delicate  as  a  woman's.  He  has  the  slow,  drolling  accent 
of  the  Georgian.  He  is  no  mere  elocutionist,  and  makes  no  effort 
at  the  dramatic.  There  is  pathos  in  his  voice,  however,  and  a 
natural  charm  about  his  manner  of  delivery  that  soothes  the  nerves, 
delights  the  ear  and  carries  with  it  the  sjrmpathies  of  his  listener. 
He  is  perfectly  cool  and  collected,  and  says  so  much  in  so  few 
words,  and  with  such  little  apparent  effort,  that  the  congregation, 
while  delighted,  wonder  where  on  earth  he  came  into  possession  of 
such  a  marvelous  style.  He  has  the  quaint  humor  of  the  South  and 
is  full  of  homely  anecdotes,  which  he  uses  to  illustrate  his  text,  and 
relates  them  so  naturally  that  his  discourse  is  brightened  by  them 
and  his  congregation  at  times  is  convulsed  with  merriment.  He 
is  always  saying  something  original,  and  his  audience  never 
wearies."  The  Call  and  The  Bxaminer  had  equally  as  good  and 
favorable  reports  and  comments  as  The  Chronicle.  As  in  all  other 
meetings,  it  was  not  long  until  he  had  taken  in  the  situation  and 
began  to  preach  against  the  prevailing  sins,  and  raised  the  issue  for 
the  meeting.  He  led  up  to  this  by  a  reference  to  the  South  firing 
upon  the  Stars  and  Stripes  at  Fort  Sumter.  Said  he :  "I  am  sorry 
we  fired  on  that  flag.  We  made  a  mistake  in  doing  that.  No  man 
is  more  loyal  to  the  flag  of  his  country  than  the  one  who  now  ad- 
dresses you,  I  am  not  very  sorry  that  we  fought  you  Northern 
folks,  and  never  will  admit  that  you  whipped  us.  We  just  wore 
ourselves  out  fighting  you.  [Laughter.]  But  the  first  thing  in 
the  war  was  an  issue;  the  next  thing  was  drawing  the  lines,  and 
then  every  fellow  hustled  home  to  get  his  gun.  So  it  is  in  this  re- 
ligious warfare.  We  must  raise  the  issue,  draw  the  line,  and  every 
fellow  get  ready  to  fight.  Here  in  this  fair  city  you  are  given  to 
card-playing,  theater-going  and  wine-drinking,  and  when  a  crusade 
is  made  against  these  things  and  a  call  is  made,  we  can't  get  a 
corporal's  guard  with  which  to  fight  the  devil.     You  people  run 


Sam  p.  Jones.  277 

home  and  shoot  under  the  bed;  anybody  can  jump  on  a  little  fellow 
and  stamp  the  feathers  off  him.,  but  it  takes  a  man  to  attack  the  sins 
in  high  places.  I  have  quit  jumping  on  little  fellows.  If  you  want 
to  fight  me  just  go  where  the  bottom  dog  is  and  scratch  under 
him,  and  if  I  ain't  there,  then  I  am  just  gone  to  dinner.  I  always 
sympathize  with  the  bottom  dog.  I  like  a  preacher  like  John  the 
Baptist,  who  would  preach  against  the  sins  of  Herod,  and  while  in 
jail  would  die  before  he  would  retract  his  words."- 

No  sooner  had  the  issue  been  raised,  than  the  papers  began  to 
defend  the  people  and  the  city.  There  was  nothing  in  the  way  of 
misrepresentation  and  denimciation  that  they  did  not  resort  to.  This 
led  Mr.  Jones  to  speak  of  them  at  one  of  his  services.  He  said :  "I 
have  been  swallowed  by  whales  and  nibbled  by  minnows,  but  I  never 
had  the  ants  crawl  over  me  till  I  struck  the  Pacific  Slope.  The  little 
papers  in  Los  Angeles,  Sacramento  and  San  Francisco  are  pitching 
into  Sam  Jones.  Now,  these  little  editor  ants  don't  hurt  me,  they 
just  crawl  over  me  and  make  me  itch."  This  reference  created 
much  laughter  and  brought  forth  enthusiastic  applause.  Of  course 
the  papers  continued  their  assault,  but  finally  he  won  the  day,  and 
their  attacks  upon  him  simply  called  the  attention  of  more  people 
to  the  meeting.  He  did  not  lack  for  congregations  from  the  very 
beginning,  but  the  issues  at  stake  and  the  attitude  of  the  press  aided 
him  in  getting  audiences  which  far  exceeded  the  seating  capacity  of 
the  Pavilion.  I      '  ':'&■:  T^ 

Believing  that  the  morals  of  the  city  needed  purifying  he  took 
the  city  ofiicials  to  task  and  scored  them  without  mercy  for  their 
loose  administration.  He  called  attention  to  the  theaters  that  were 
running  in  open  defiance  of  the  Sabbath  laws,  and  said  no  city 
could  hope  for  the  blessings  of  God  that  would  ruthlessly  disregard 
His  injunction  to  keep  the  Sabbath  day  holy.  His  attacks  on  the 
saloons  were  severe,  and  received  just  as  vigorous  attention  as  in 
other  places.  The  Bxaminer,  edited  by  William  Randolph  Hearst, 
took  up  his  remarks  on  municipal  affairs  and  ridiculously  distorted 
them  until  one  would  think  that  Mr.  Jones  was  illiterate,  unrefined, 
and  without  the  knowledge  of  the  ordinary  citizen.  With  the  re- 
porters sitting  in  front  of  him,  he  called  the  attention  of  the  au- 


278  Sam  R  Jonks. 

dietice  to  the  misrepresentations,  and,  pointing  at  the  reporters,  said : 
"You  httle  sap-headed  reporters,  with  eyes  so  close  together  that 
you  can  see  through  a  keyhole  with  both  of  them,  are  sent  here  at 
night  to  take  down  my  sermons ;  now,  if  you  can't  report  them  as 
I  deliver  them,  you  stay  away  from  here.  You  seem  to  think  your 
mission  is  to  make  my  sermons  funnier  and  more  sensational,  and 
in  your  ridiculous  attempts  you  are  slandering  me  and  the  cause. 
Now,  bud,  if  you  are  doing  the  best  that  you  can,  your  paper  had 
better  put  you  on  a  job  that  is  small  enough  for  your  caliber,  and 
let  them  send  a  man  here  that  is  big  enough  for  the  occasion." 

The  meeting  continued  from  day  to  day,  growing  in  interest  and 
power,  while  souls  were  being  converted  at  all  the  services.  Mr. 
Jones  had  the  cooperation  of  a  large  portion  of  the  Protestant 
ministers  of  the  city,  which  was  a  source  of  pleasure  and  strength 
to  him,  as  he  always  appreciated  the  full  and  sympathetic  help  of 
the  ministers  of  a  city.  He  was  in  San  Francisco  four  weeks,  and 
thousands  of  people  professed  conversion  and  resolved  to  live  a 
better  life.  He  w^as  urged  to  remain  longer,  but  his  engagements 
elsewhere  were  pressing  him  and  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  com- 
ply with  their  wishes. 

In  describing  the  last  service  one  of  the  papers  said :  "The  odor 
of  all  kinds  of  flowers  filled  the  Pavilion  yesterday,  for  the  con- 
cluding services  had  been  anticipated  by  the  friends  of  the  evan- 
gelist, who  showed  their  appreciation  of  his  efforts  to  reform  the 
city  by  decorating  the  band-stand  on  which  he  spoke  and  the  wall 
behind  him  with  the  fairest  flowers  of  the  garden  and  forest  ar- 
ranged in  the  most  graceful  and  tasteful  manner.  The  railing  of 
the  stand  was  concealed  from  view  by  a  bank  of  calla-lilies,  while  at 
the  back  of  the  stand  was  a  cross  made  of  ivy  and  callas,  festooned 
with  roses  and  lilacs.  Mr.  Jones  said :  "I  have  never  looked  upon 
such  lovely  valleys,  green  mountains  and  crystal  streams  in  my  life. 
From  my  heart  I  pray  that  this  glorious  country  may  some  day 
be  given  to  God,  then  California  will  be  the  greatest  State  in  the 
Union,  and  San  Francisco  the  fairest  city  that  angels  ever  looked 
upon.  We  are  told  that  there  shall  be  a  new  heaven  and  earth, 
w^ierein  shall  reis:n  ris^hteousness.     God  could  make  such  a  heaven 


Sam  p.  Jones.  279 

out  of  California  with  less  transformation  than  any  other  part  of 
the  world."  He  took  occasion  to  compliment  in  terms  of  sincerest 
praise  the  cordial  hospitality  with  which  he  had  been  uniformly  re- 
ceived in  all  the  cities  of  the  State. 

At  the  close  of  his  sermon  the  ministers,  in  bidding  him  fare- 
well, presented  the  following  resolutions : 

"Resolved,  That  we,  ministers  of  the  gospel,  residing  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, have  greatly  enjoyed  the  services  of  Rev.  Samuel  P.  Jones 
in  this  cit}^  He  has  been  abundant  in  labors,  faithful  in  declaring 
the  whole  counsel  of  God  and  wonderfully  successful  in  stirring 
our  community  for  righteousness.  We  are  thankful  that  he  came, 
our  prayers  go  with  him  as  he  goes,  and  we  shall  gladly  welcome 
him  to  our  city  whenever  the  good  providence  of  God  shall  again 
bring  him.  to  the  Pacific  coast. 

''Resolved,  That  the  services  of  Professor  Excell,  singing  com- 
panion to  Mr.  Jones,  have  been  most  enjoyable.  He  is  a  workman 
that  needeth  not  to  be  ashamed.  Long  may  Jones  and  Excell  do 
services  for  our  common  Master. 

"(Signed)  F.  D.  Bovard,  J.  M.  Hammon,  M.  C.  Harris,  W.  W. 
Case,  F.  M.  Washburne,  A.  J.  Nelson,  C.  V.  Anthony,  J.  Hannon, 
G.  W.  Izer,  Richard  Harcourt,  N.  Carver,  M.  M.  Gibson,  Laurenzo 
Waugh,  E.  G.  Matthews,  L.  M.  Schofield,  W.  S.  Urmy,  W.  S. 
Bovard,  H.  H.  Hall." 

A  liberal  offering  was  made  for  his  Orphans'  Home  and  for  his 
OAvn  support,  and  thousands  pressed  forward  and  gave  him  their 
hands  in  token  of  their  appreciation  for  the  great  help  that  they 
had  received  from  his  ministry. 

The  citizens  had  requested  that  he  remain  over  and  deliver  a 
paid  lecture  at  the  close  of  his  evangelistic  services.  The  great 
pavilion  was  crowded  and  standing-room  was  at  a  premium.  The 
policemen,  with  difficulty,  made  way  for  him  to  reach  the  platfonii, 
and  when  he  was  introduced  the  thousands  cheered  enthusiastically 
for  fifteen  minutes,  making  it  impossible  for  him  to  begin.  This 
great  ovation  visibly  affected  JMr.  Jones,  and  he  delivered  one  of  the 
finest  addresses  of  his  life. 

Thus  closed  his  services  at  the  city  of  the  Golden  Gate. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


Toiv^DO  Meeting. 

Perhaps  the  most  novel  situation  that  Mr.  Jones  had  ever  en- 
countered was  in  Toledo,  Ohio.  A  committee  from  the  Ministers' 
Union  had  invited  him  to  Toledo  for  the  purpose  of  fighting  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Golden  Rule  policy  of  Mayor  Samuel  M.  Jones,  who 
had  made  himself  famous  by  his  doctrine  of  "Do  as  you  would  be 
done  by."  The  mayor  had  injected  his  principles  into  the  city  gov- 
ernment, and  dealt  with  the  vices  of  the  city  upon  that  platform, 
which  was  not  approved  by  a  number  of  the  ministers  and  the  Chris- 
tian laymen.  Consequently  the  services  of  Mr.  Jones  were  sought 
in  order  that  the  people  might  be  shown  the  evils  attendant  upon  the 
Golden  Rule  regime.  It  was  truly  a  case  of  Sam  Jones  versus  Sam 
Jones. 

The  newspapers  of  the  city,  with  one  exception,  the  Bee,  were 
favorable  to  Samuel  M.  Jones,  the  mayor,  and  against  the  .coming 
of  Sam  P.  Jones,  the  preacher.  They  were  loud  in  their  denuncia- 
tions of  the  Georgia  evangelist,  and  great  injury  to  the  city  was  pre- 
dicted upon  his  coming.  They  appealed  to  the  people  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  popularity  of  the  Golden  Rule  policy  that  was  in- 
augurated, and  as  they  said,  successfully  administered  by  the  mayor. 
Speculations  and  predictions  of  dire  calamity  were  read  every  day 
before  and  after  the  coming  of  the  evangelist,  and  efforts  were  made 
to  convince  the  people  that  the  Georgian  would  come  to  the  city  only 
for  the  purpose  of  stirring  up  strife  and  overthrowing  the  policy  of 
the  best  mayor  the  city  ever  had. 

But  with  the  Bee  as  the  sole  defender  of  the  evangelist,  his  case 
went  before  the  people  of  the  city.  The  people  read  the  adverse 
criticisms  of  the  papers,  but  did  not  make  up  their  minds  finally,  and 
reserved  their  judgment  until  the  coming  of  Mr.  Jones,  when  they 
could  see  and  hear  for  themselves. 

(280) 


Sam  p.  Jones.  281 

Upon  his  arrival  in  Toledo  Mr.  Jones  was  met  by  the  committee 
tliat  had  invited  him.  He  was  put  in  possession  of  facts  regarding 
the  moral  and  political  status  of  affairs,  and  with  this  information 
he  went  forward  to  the  attack  single-handed. 

At  the  opening  service,  which  was  held  in  the  Armory  Hall,  there 
were  more  than  five  thousand  eager  people  to  hear  the  evangelist. 
Every  seat  in  the  building  was  taken,  and  hundreds  were  turned 
away,  unable  to  find  standing-room. 

The  arrangements  for  the  meetings,  which  were  in  the  hands  of 
a  committee,  were,  perhaps,  the  most  complete  and  satisfactory  that 
Mr.  Jones  had  ever  experienced.  Every  detail  had  been  carefully 
looked  after  by  the  committee,  which  had  worked  in  harmony  from 
the  beginning,  and  the  effect  of  united  action  was  apparent.  Mr. 
Jones  often  remarked  that  the  arrangements  made  for  the  meetings 
at  Toledo  were  splendid,  and  that  he  had  seldom  seen  such  harmony 
among  the  members  of  a  committee. 

He  was  introduced  by  Mayor  Samuel  M.  Jones,  who  was  given 
a  rousing  ovation  when  he  appeared  upon  the  platform  with 
his  wife.  It  was  readily  seen  that  the  mayor  was  extremely 
popular  with  the  people,  and  that  his  policy  was  generally  approved. 
This  did  not  seem  to  disturb  the  evangelist,  however,  for  he  had 
found  it  his  duty  many  times  before  to  attack  officials  in  high  places 
and  officers  of  great  popularity  when  he  felt  that  their  policy  was 
wrong,  or  that  they  were  not  doing  their  duty.  The  two  Sams  were 
loudly  applauded  as  they  shook  hands  upon  the  platform  in  view  of 
the  people. 

In  his  introduction  the  mayor  said  in  part :  That  it  had  been  his 
privilege  to  perform  many  pleasant  duties,  but  none  which  had  ever 
put  more  sunshine  into  his  heart.  He  was  delighted  to  see  before  him 
such  a  vast  audience,  as  it  was  an  indication  that  a  great  many  Tole- 
doans  were  interested  in  the  welfare  of  men's,  souls — interested  in  a 
gospel  that  would  put  sunshine  into  all  hearts.  Many  men,  he  said, 
were  misunderstood,  but  there  was  always  the  comforting  assurance 
that  Christ  while  on  earth  was  misunderstood.  Things  as  they  exist 
are  awfully  wrong,  but  he  had  faith  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  with  that 


282  Sam  P.  Jones. 

faith  fixed  in  the  hearts  of  men,  everything  would  be  righted  after 
awhile."    In  conclusion  he  said: 

"It  gives  me  pleasure  to  introduce  to  you  Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones,  and 
there  are  other  Joneses.     This  Jones  is  my  fellow  worker." 

After  the  mayor  took  his  seat,  Mr.  Jones  arose  and  proceeded  im- 
mediately with  his  sermon.  The  first  sermon  was  along  serious 
lines,  and  he  did  not  indulge  in  the  sensational  attacks  on  sin  and 
sinful  things,  that  he  usually  employed  at  the  beginning  of  a  meet- 
ing. For  more  than  a  week  Mr.  Jones  kept  up  this  seriousness,  to- 
the  evident  disappointment  of  some  of  the  people  who  had  come  to- 
hear  him  scalp  some  of  the  city  ofiicials,  and  others  who  were  con- 
sidered evil-doers. 

It  was  after  the  first  week  of  the  meeting  that  Mr.  Jones,  in 
preaching  to  men,  opened  his  guns  and  fired  into  the  city  officials. 
Mr.  Jones  never  preached  with  more  power,  nor  with  more  fearless 
onslaughts  upon  the  sins  of  men  and  public  ofiicials  who  would  al- 
low the  laws  of  the  land  to  be  broken  every  day  with  no  apparent 
effort  to  enforce  them.  , 

"You  have  got  an  apostle  in  town,"  said  j\Ir.  Jones,  "who  can  do^ 
everything  by  love ;  he  works  the  Golden  Rule  on  everything.  3,Iy! 
My!  if  love  would  have  regulated  this  town,  it  would  have  taken 
wings  long  ago,  and  would  have  flown  away.  Is  it  love  that  runs 
seven  hundred  saloons  wide  open  seven  days  in  the  week,  forty  shame- 
less houses  all  night  long,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  gambling-hells 
that  carry  your  old  men  and  your  young  men  down  to  hell?  You 
go  down  the  street  to  that  white-aproned,  bull-necked  saloon-keeper 
and  say,  'Jim,  I  am  going  to  love  you  to  death.'  'Go  on,'  he  will 
say,  'love  as  long  as  you  please,  but  don't  shut  me  up.'  If  the  devil 
were  mayor  of  this  town,  he  would  not  change  a  single  thing.  The 
devil  would  not  change  your  chief  of  police  either.  If  I  could  not 
find  a  mayor  and  police  commissioner  who  would  enforce  the  law 
and  close  these  resorts  of  hell  on  the  Sabbath  I  would  take  to  the 
woods  on  election  day.  The  owners  of  the  saloons,  the  gambling- 
houses,  and  unclean  resorts  of  this  city  are  worse  than  mad  dogs, 
and  would  any  man  in  this  house  attempt  to  use  the  Golden  Rule  on 
such  an  animal?     I  stand  for  something  in  my  town,  and  when  a. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  283 

mad  dog  gets  loose  in  the  streets  of  my  place  I  use  a  double-barreled 
shotgun  on  him.  I  have  got  something  above  my  eyes,  neighbor. 
I  have  got  too  much  sense  to  use  love  on  a  rabid  beast." 

The  sermon  was  one  of  the  most  powerful  that  the  evangelist  had 
preached,  and  its  effect  upon  his  audience  was  unmistakable.  Mr. 
Jones  won  a  great  victory  for  municipal  reform  in  Toledo,  and 
changed  the  moral  atmosphere  of  the  city. 

In  Toledo,  perhaps  one  of  the  largest  woman's  meeting  ever  held 
was  conducted  by  Mr.  Jones.  Despite  the  fearful  state  of  the 
weather,  the  ladies  of  the  city  turned  out  in  enormous  crowds.  They 
braved  the  storm  of  snow  and  rain,  and  waded  through  the  mud  and 
slush  and  filled  to  everflowing  the  great  Armory  Hall.  Mr.  Jones 
preached  to  them  concerning  the  influence  that  they  could  and 
should  exert  over  the  men  in  the  coming  election  for  mayor.  He 
said  that  every  woman  had  an  influence  for  good  or  evil  over  some 
man,  and  that  if  the  women  of  Toledo  would  exercise  that  influence 
properly  they  would  be  able  to  carry  the  city  for  God  and  right. 
There  were  women  from  every  walk  in  life  present  at  the  meeting, 
and  the  impression  made  upon  them  by  Mr.  Jones  was  marked. 

The  meetings  at  Toledo  lasted  for  three  weeks,  and  with  each 
day  the  services  became  more  productive  of  good  results.  Thou- 
sands of  people  were  converted,  and  many  thousands  were  at  the 
altar  during  the  meetings,  asking  for  the  prayers  of  the  Christian 
people. 

At  the  close  of  the  meetings  Mr.  Jones  was  extended  a  wann  invi- 
tation to  return  to  the  city  at  any  time  he  could  do  so,  and  was  as- 
sured of  the  fact  that  his  work  had  accomplished  inestimable  good 
for  the  people  of  Toledo.  Those  people  who  had  abused  him  and 
questioned  his  motives  before  he  came  to  the  city  had  turned  com- 
pletely around  and  were  loud  in  their  praises  of  his  work. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


The  Work  in  the  South. 

I  have  spoken  of  the  great  meetings  in  Memphis,  Nashville,  St. 
Joseph  and  St.  Louis,  which  gave  Mr.  Jones  a  national  reputation. 
I  have  given  lengthy  accounts  of  the  meetings  in  Cincinnati,  Chicago, 
Baltimore,  Toronto  and  Boston,  which  established  him  for  all  time 
as  the  world's  greatest  and  most  unique  evangelist.  The  question 
was  never  raised  after  these  great  meetings  as  to  his  ability,  power 
and  marvelous  personality. 

The  great  meetings  in  the  central  West,  including  Indianapolis, 
St.  Paul,  Minneapolis,  Omaha  and  Kansas  City  and  other  places 
stirred  up  that  portion  of  the  United  States,  and  won  for  him  a  great 
place  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  the  central  West.  His  work  on 
the  Pacific  coast  including  meetings  at  Los  Angeles,  Sacramento  and 
San  Francisco  made  him  a  well-known  and  prominent  factor  on  the 
Pacific  coast  and  in  the  extreme  West  and  Northwest. 

While  he  had  conducted  marvelous  meetings  in  his  early  days  in 
most  of  the  Southern  States,  which  had  made  his  name  a  household 
word,  it  was  about  the  year  1900  when  he  refused  to  accept  calls 
from  all  parts  of  the  United  States  to  devote  the  best  part  of  his  life 
to  the  people  of  the  Southland,  who  were  so  dear  to  his  heart,  among, 
whom  he  had  been  born  and  reared. 

To  begin  and  give  a  detailed  description  of  these  great  meetings, 
held  in  the  leading  cities  of  all  the  Southern  States  would  make  a 
volume  as  large  as  the  present  one.  To  recite  the  hundreds  and  al- 
most thousands  of  remarkable  incidents  and  marvelous  conversions 
to  Christianity  would  be  more  thrilling  than  those  that  we  have  al- 
ready given,  which  are  certain  to  furnish  an  insight  into  his  marvel- 
ous character  and  ability.  Those  who  heard  him  in  his  early  days, 
and  who  followed  his  great  triumphs  throughout  the  other  portions 

(284) 


Sam  p.  Jones.  285 

of  the  United  States,  declared  that  he  never  preached  with  more 
earnestness,  mellowness  and  power  than  he  did  in  these  great  South- 
em  campaigns.  He  had  reached  the  zenith  of  his  glory  and  power, 
and  these  years,  by  the  marvelous  results  that  followed  him  wherever 
he  went,  demonstrated  the  fact  that  he  held  his  own  in  the  hearts 
and  the  affection  of  the  people,  and  that  he  was  approved  of  God. 
The  upbuilding  of  the  churches,  the  moral  reformation  of  the  people, 
the  awakening  of  sentiment  against  the  liquor  traffic,  and  all  the  sins 
that  go  with  manufacturing,  selling  and  drinking  the  accursed  stuff, 
can  only  be  estimated  by  the  fact  that  the  entire  South  was  thrown 
into  a  great  revival  of  righteousness,  and  that  the  sentiment  through- 
out the  Southern  States  against  the  liquor  traffic  was  so  intensified 
that  prohibition  followed  many  of  his  meetings,  and  that  the  South 
at  large  has  placed  its  endorsement  upon  his  work  in  the  great  tem- 
perance movement  that  seems  destined  to  rid  our  fair  Southland  of 
open  saloons.  He  had  so  impressed  himself  upon  the  people  that  the 
mere  announcement  that  he  would  lecture  or  preach  would  bring 
out  audiences  that  tested  the  seating  capacity  of  the  largest  audito- 
riums in  the  different  cities  of  this  section. 

In  Mississippi  he  held  fifteen  meetings,  including  Jackson,  Green- 
ville, Columbus,  Vicksburg,  West  Point,  Aberdeen  and  Meridian. 
At  some  of  these  places  large  tents  were  used,  and  at  others  large 
warehouses,  cotton-sheds  and  wooden  tabernacles  were  arranged  es- 
pecially for  his  meetings.  Special  trains  were  run  from  all  parts  of 
the  State.  The  people  came  in  private  conveyances  for  twenty-five 
miles,  and  the  audiences  numbered  from  five  to  ten  thousand. 
The  immense  crowds  bewildered  the  people  of  the  towns  and  cities 
in  which  he  preached,  and  it  was  difficult  to  find  lodging  and  enter- 
tainment for  the  crowds  that  the  excursions  brought  in. 

At  the  close  of  his  great  meeting  at  West  Point,  Mr.  Jones  de- 
sired to  leave  on  one  of  the  special  trains,  but  the  coaches,  aisles, 
platform  and  steps  were  crowded  so  that  he  could  not  get  standing- 
room,  and  the  depot  agent  made  arrangements  with  the  engineer 
to  give  him  a  seat  in  the  engine  with  him,  and  ride  there  until  the 
cars  were  sufficiently  emptied  for  him  to  find  a  seat. 

In  one  of  the  great  meetings  in  Mississippi  an  editor  who  became 


286  Sam  P.  Jonks. 

enraged  at  Mr.  Jones  and  came  to  the  meeting  intoxicated  started 
down  the  aisle  with  a  pistol  in  his  hand  to  shoot  Mr.  Jones,  but  was 
overtaken  by  an  officer  and  put  in  prison.  When  he  sobered  up  he 
became  penitent  and  Mr.  Jones  had  him  released  from  jail  and  he 
came  back  into  the  meeting  and  was  happily  converted. 

At  Vicksburg  the  great  tent  blew  down  in  a  rainstorm,  but  a 
number  of  the  most  wicked  men  in  the  city,  who  had  fought  his 
coming  had  gotten  interested  in  Mr.  Jones's  sermons,  assisted  in 
putting  up  the  tent,  and  some  of  them  were  converts  of  the  meeting. 
On  the  way  to  the  tent  one  night  he  noticed  a  man  following  him 
closely.  After  turning  several  corners,  Mr.  Jones  stopped  and  said : 
"Are  you  following  me  ?"  The  man  replied :  "lam."  "Then,"  said 
Mr.  Jones,  "for  what  purpose?"  The  man  shook  with  emotion  as  the 
tears  came  to  his  eyes,  and  said :  "I  have  been  trying  to  get  up  cour- 
age to  speak  to  you  and  ask  you  to  pray  for  me ;  my  mother  attend- 
ed your  meetings  at  Jackson  and  on  her  dying  bed  she  made  me 
promise  that  if  you  ever  came  within  fifty  miles  of  my  home  I  would 
hear  you  preach.  In  fulfillment  of  that  promise,  I  have  come  fifty 
miles  that  I  might  hear  you.  I  am  a  very  wicked  man,  but  I  am 
here  to  seek  religion,  and  I  want  you  to  pray  for  me."  Mr.  Jones 
preached  to  him  there,  and  in  the  great  meeting  that  night  he  was 
converted. 

In  another  town  a  drummer  walked  up  and  registered,  but 
when  the  clerk  informed  him  that  he  could  not  get  a  room,  he 
said,  "What  does  this  mean?"  The  clerk  replied,  "Sam  Jones  is  in 
town,  and  thousands  of  people  are  attending  his  meetings,  and  the 
hotel  is  crowded."  The  drummer  said :  "You  don't  tell  me  that  this 
crowd  is  here  to  hear  Sam  Jones?"  "Yes,  sir,"  replied  the  hotel- 
keeper.  "Well,"  said  the  drummer,  "I  can  understand  why  a  man 
would  go  to  hear  a  blackguard  like  Sam  Jones,  but  I  can  not  under- 
stand why  a  decent  man  would  take  his  wife  to  hear  him."  A  sin- 
ner who  had  come  about  thirty  or  forty  miles,  and  brought  his  wife 
to  the  meeting,  walked  up  to  the  drummer  and  struck  him  in  the 
face  with  his  fist,  and  knocked  him  down.  AVhen  the  drummer  re- 
covered, he  said,  "What  do  you  mean?"  The  m.an  replied:  "I  just 
wanted  to  show  you  how  a  decent  man  could  take  his  wife  to  hear 


Sam  p.  Jones.  287 

Sam  Jones ;  I  want  to  teach  you  a  lesson."  The  next  morning  the 
man  with  his  right  hand  in  a  bandage  came  to  the  meeting  and  gave 
his  heart  to  God. 

In  Greenville,  at  the  close  of  one  of  his  services,  the  wives  of 
three  prominent  business  men  said :  "Brother  Jones,  we  have  com- 
bined together  to  pray  for  our  unsaved  husbands,  and  we  want  you 
to  join  us."  Mr.  Jones  replied  :  "Where  two  or  three  agree  as  touch- 
ing one  thing,  it  shall  be  done.  We  will  pray  with  you  and  expect 
their  conversions."  All  three  of  the  men  were  happily  converted, 
and  became  most  earnest  Christians. 

He  requested  all  the  business  men  to  close  for  the  day  services. 
With  the  exception  of  two  saloons,  every  business-house  in  the  town 
was  closed.  One  of  these  saloon-keepers  stood  in  front  of  his  saloon 
and  cursed  Mr.  Jones  for  wanting  him  to  close  his  saloon  while  he 
was  abusing  his  business.  Mr.  Jones  heard  about  it,  and  said  in 
public :  "I  meant  no  harm  by  this  invitation ;  it  was  only  my  inter- 
est in  these  men  that  led  me  to  make  the  request,  but  mark  my  word, 
you  will  see  doors  closed  with  black  crepe  on  them  before  many 
days."  A  few  weeks  later  a  copy  of  the  Greenville  Delta  was  sent 
Mr.  Jones,  with  a  paragraph  marked,  in  which  it  stated  that  that 
saloon-keeper  had  dropped  dead  at  his  saloon  door,  just  as  he  went 
to  open  it  one  morning.  Those  who  read  his  words  and  yielded  to 
his  appeals  were  blessed  of  God,  while  some  who  hardened  their 
hearts  and  resisted  the  calls  of  mercy,  died  horrible  deaths,  speaking 
God's  approval  and  endorsement  of  the  man  who  had  warned  them 
so  faithfully. 

At  Meridian  some  very  remarkable  things  happened  under 
his  ministry.  Some  of  the  wicked  men  of  the  city  were  cursing  and 
gambling  on  Mr.  Jones,  and  went  down  together  to  see  who  was  the 
winner,  which  resulted  in  two  of  them  coming  forward  for  prayers 
at  the  close  of  the  sermon.  They  were  happily  converted  later  on-  in 
the  meeting,  and  became  prominent  members  of  the  church. 

The  meeting  changed  the  history  of  the  city,  and  a  fight  had  be- 
gun on  the  saloon  business  that  never  stopped  until  every  saloon  in 
the  city  was  closed. 


288  Sam  P.  Jon^s. 

Mr.  L.  P.  Brown,  a  prominent  citizen,  and  a  very  earnest  Chris- 
tian of  that  city,  in  a  personal,  says : 

"Meridian,  where  I  have  lived  for  thirty-eight  years,  with  a  popu- 
lation of  twenty-seven  thousand  souls,  has  stood  for  fifteen  years 
without  a  barroom,  brothel,  or  licensed  liquor  in  any  form — a  monu- 
ment of  what  God  can  and  does  and  will  do — and  at  the  same  time 
memory  takes  me  back  to  the  help  given  us  by  Brother  Jones.  He 
spared  not  the  curse  o^f  drink,  and  at  the  same  time  won  the  drinker 
and  the  seller.  Around  thousands  of  family  altars  his  name  is  hon- 
ored for  his  work's  sake.  In  our  household  his  face  not  only  hangs 
from  several  walls,  but  around  our  hearts  the  memory  of  his  pres- 
ence and  his  life-work  are  in  daily  and  hourly  evidence." 

The  great  meetings  in  Mississippi  were  the  leading  factors  in 
almost  freeing  that  State  from  the  open  saloons. 

In  his  native  State,  meetings  were  held  in  Macon,  Rome,  Augusta, 
Marietta,  Columbus,  Waycross,  Brunswick,  Covington,  Savannah, 
Atlanta,  and  many  other  towns.  In  all,  he  conducted  meetings  in 
more  than  fifty  of  the  prominent  towns  and  cities  in  Georgia.  It  is 
difficult  to  say  which  was  the  most  powerful  in  immediate  results, 
but  perhaps  Savannah  and  Atlanta  were  the  scenes  of  his  greatest 
work.  It  was  in  Georgia  where  he  came  into  closest  touch  with  the 
railroad  men. 

At  Macon  he  was  thrown  with  them  in  the  shops,  and  visited  and 
prayed  with  them  in  their  homes.  Here  began  his  great  interest  and 
love  for  railroad  men.  In  that  city  he  learned  of  their  generosity 
and  liberality  while  holding  revival  services.  The  railroad  men 
came  up  and  extended  him  cordial  invitations  to  visit  them.  In  their 
homes  he  found  their  wives  and  loving  little  children,  and  seeing  how 
they  were  attached  to  one  another,  his  love  grew  stronger  for 
them  the  longer  he  lived.  Instead  of  finding  them  the  rough,  un- 
couth men  that  they  had  been  pictured,  he  found  many  of  them  cul- 
tured, refined  and  gentle.  Some  of  their  wives  were  the  most  de- 
voted Christians. 

Wherever  he  went  he  usually  held  a  special  meeting  for  them  in 
the  railroad  shops,  and  no  class  of  men  were  greater  admirers  of  him 
than  the  noble  railroad  men  throughout  the  South. 


Sam  p.  JoN:es.  289 

In  Atlanta  a  meeting  was  held  for  them  in  the  Western  and 
Atlantic  shops.  This  brought  together  a  great  crowd,  including  all 
the  employees  of  the  company.  Mr.  Charlie  Tillman  sang  "The 
Railroad  Song,"  and  just  before  Mr.  Jones  arose  to  speak.  Col.  W. 
M.  Bray  stepped  to  the  front  and  said :  "Mr.  Jones,  I  have  been  re- 
quested by  Mr.  Lamar  Collier,  and  the  representative  and  substan- 
tial railroad  men  of  Atlanta,  to  perform  a  service  for  the  operators 
of  the  Western  and  Atlantic  Railroad.  I  am  here  in  obedience  to 
this  request,  as  I  never  fail  to  perform  a  duty  when  I  can.  I  am 
commissioned  through  him,  and  in  behalf  of  these  railroad  men,  to 
present  you  a  testimonial  of  their  appreciation  of  your  advocacy  of 
their  right.  This  testimonial  is  not  like  most  testimonials,  of  little 
worth ;  but  of  priceless  value.  I  present  you  in  their  name  a  book 
that  is  the  Book  of  books.  I  believe  that  its  principles  will  always 
be  presented  intelligently  and  fearlessly  by  the  recipient.  Here  is 
a  handsome  Oxford  Bible,  beautifully  bound,  from  the  men  of  the 
Western  and  Atlantic  Railroad.  This  is  a  testimonial  of  their  great 
regard  and  love  for  you." 

Mr.  Jones  took  the  Bible,  and  said :  "Little  did  I  ..hink  a  moment 
ago,  when  I  found  that  I  had  left  my  Bible  at  my  room,  that  I  would 
be  supplied  with  one  in  this  way.  I  appreciate  the  gift.  I  have  al- 
ways found  the  railroad  men  noble  in  their  homes,  and  regarded 
them  as  a  big-hearted  and  brave  set  of  men.  I  shall  leave  this  beau- 
tiful Bible  as  an  heirlooin  to  my  youngest  child.  Now^,"  said  he,  "I 
will  preach  from  this  book,  taking  as  my  text  these  words :  'But 
thou  hast  kept  the  good  wine  until  now.'  "  Great  power  attended 
this  meeting,  and  hundreds  of  them  arose  at  the  close  and  dedicated 
their  lives  to  God. 

Mr.  Jones  visited  all  the  schools  and  spoke  to  the  children,  the 
young  men  and  women  of  the  colleges,  and  held  many  precious 
services  with  them.  Every  conceivable  place  was  utilized  for  preach- 
ing services.  He  spoke  at  the  recorder's  court-room,  at  the  police 
headquarters,  and  before  every  class  of  people  brought  there,  he 
preached  with  such  tenderness  and  power  that  the  officers  and  crimi- 
nals gave  him  their  hands  as  an  expression  of  their  desire  to  lead  a 
Christian  life. 


290  Sam  P.  J  ones. 

One  of  the  most  unique  services  was  held  on  the  roof  of  the  Equit- 
able building,  at  that  time  one  of  the  tallest  buildings  in  the  city. 
It  was  at  high  noon,  when  the  spring  sun  sent  its  rays  through  a 
rift  in  the  threatening  clouds.  Nine  hundred  people,  by  actual  count, 
by  a  man  standing  at  the  little  door  opening  on  the  roof,  came  to 
hear  him  preach.  Half  of  the  occupants  of  the  Equitable  building 
were  there.  They  stood  on  the  tar  and  gravel  and  looked  into  the 
earnest  face  of  the  revivalist,  while  down  from  the  streets  came  the- 
ceaseless  murmur  of  traffic  and  clamor  of  wagons,  horses'  hoofs, 
and  buzzing  of  trolleys.  Behind  and  around  him  stretched  the 
amphitheater  of  the  blue  Piedmont  hills,  while  in  the  distance  were 
the  colleges  resting  on  the  eminences  which  gird  the  city.  The 
smoke  arose  from  a  hundred  furnaces  and  chimneys,  and  rolled  over 
the  high  pulpit,  while  the  steeples  of  the  churches  were  in  plain  view. 
He  took  for  his  text  Mark  8:36:  "What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he 
shall  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul."  He  concluded 
his  sermon  by  asking  all  who  would  promise  to  lead  better  lives  to 
hold  up  their  hands,  and  hundreds  of  those  on  the  roof  responded. 

The  meetings  in  Atlanta  not  only  resulted  in  the  conversions  of 
thousands  of  souls,  but  started  a  wave  of  temperance  and  municipal 
reforms,  the  fruits  of  which  are  seen  to-day.  The  audiences  in  the 
great  Moody  Tabernacle  ranged  from  eight  to  twenty  thousand 
people.  After  the  immense  building  was  crowded  part  of  the  thou- 
sands were  turned  back.  The  meetings  became  instrumental  in  cre- 
ating sentiment  against  the  open  saloons,  and  other  immoralities,, 
that  made  his  work  go  down  in  history  as  the  most  powerful  relig- 
ious services  ever  held  in  the  State  of  Georgia. 

In  Texas,  meetings  were  held  in  Palestine,  Tyler,  Waco,  Hous- 
ton, Fort  Worth,  Dallas,  Galveston,  San  Antonio,  and  other 
places.  Large  wooden  tabernacles  were  constructed  that  would  seat 
from  five  to  ten  thousand  people  in  many  places,  while  in  one  or  two 
cities  immense  cotton-warehouses  were  fitted  up.  It  w^as  after  one  of 
his  early  meetings  in  Texas,  at  Palestine,  where  he  had  preached 
against  the  open  wickedness  and  loose  municipal  affairs,  that  he  was 
attacked  by  the  mayor  of  the  city,  which  resulted  in  a  fight.  The 
moment  that  the  mayor  struck  him,  it  flashed  upon  j\Ir.  Jones's  > 


Sam   p.  Jones.  291 

mind,  "If  I  am  going  to  preach  as  I  do,  and  have  such  encounters 
as  this,  I  must  back  up  my  ministry  with  physical  courage.  The 
eyes  of  the  world  are  upon  me,  and  I  must  let  the  people  Ivuow  that 
in  any  sacrifice  or  danger,  I  am  in  dead  earnest."  While  not  wish- 
ing a  fight,  or  taking  any  delight  in  such,  he  immediately  wrested 
the  cane  from  the  mayor's  hand,  and  gave  him  a  genteel  thrashing. 
The  city  showed  its  approval  by  calling  a  special  meeting,  and  mak- 
ing the  mayor  resign,  while  the  people  of  the  United  States  ap- 
plauded his  bravery.  We  give  an  account  of  this  episode  in  a  tele- 
gram that  Mr.  Jones  sent  home  and  to  the  Atlanta  papers.  Just 
before  stepping  upon  the  train,  Mr.  Jones  sent  the  following  tele- 
gram to  his  home,  and  the  Atlanta  papers : 

"Mrs.  Sain  P.  Jones,  Cartersville,  Ga.: 

"The  one-horse  mayor  of  Palestine,  Texas,  tried  to  cane  me  at 
the  train  this  morning.  He  hit  me  three  times.  I  wrenched  the  cane 
from  him,  and  wore  him  out.  I  am  well.  Not  hurt.  Will  lecture 
to-night  at  LaGrange. 

"Sam  p.  Jones." 

The  one  sent  to  the  Atlanta  Constitution  was  as  follows : 

"The  one-gallus  mayor  of  Palestine  tried  to  cane  your  Uncle 
Jones  this  morning  at  the  depot.  I  wrenched  the  cane  from  him 
and  wore  him  out.  I  am  a  little  disfigured,  but  still  in  the  ring.  I 
criticised  his  official  career  last  November.     It  needed  criticising. 

"Sam  p.  Jones." 

The  trouble  in  Palestine  originated  in  this  way :  In  November, 
Mr.  Jones  had  held  evangelistic  services  there.  He  paid  his  usual 
respects  to  lukewarm  church-members,  easy-going  preachers,  gossip- 
ing men  and  women.  All  these  classes  took  the  messages  with 
meekness  and  approval,  but  when  he  arraigned  the  mayor  for  not 
enforcing  the  law  against  the  liquor  business,  he  stirred  up  a  great 
deal  of  resentment  among  the  city  officials.  The  mayor  was  absent 
at  the  time,  but  upon  his  return  to  the  city  was  informed  of  what 


292  Sam  P.  Jones. 

Mr.  Jones  had  said.  He  had  very  little  to  say  at  that  time,  but  laid 
his  plans  to  get  even  v^ith  Mr.  Jones  in  the  future.  Mr.  Jones  then 
returned  to  the  city  for  a  lecture,  and  after  repeating  his  utterances 
against  the  loose  administration,  he  went  back  to  his  hotel  and  re- 
tired for  the  night.  Next  morning  he  went  to  the  station  to  take 
the  nine  o'clock  train,  when  he  was  assaulted  by  the  mayor.  He  im- 
mediately dropped  his  valise,  and  took  the  cane  from  the  mayor  and 
"wore  him  out."  He  left  at  once  for  his  next  appointment,  and 
the  indignation  of  Palestine  was  so  aroused  that  the  leading  citizens 
called  a  special  meeting,  in  which  they  asked  the  mayor  to  resign. 
The  matter  was  telegraphed  all  over  the  United  States,  and  from 
almost  everj^  paper  came  editorials  approving  of  what  Mr.  Jones 
had  done,  and  praising  him  for  his  manliness  and  fearlessness  as  a 
minister  of  the  gospel. 

In  the  large  cities — Dallas,  Galveston,  San  Antonio,  Houston,"  and 
Fort  Worth — were  some  of  the  most  marvelous  meetings  any  man 
ever  held.  They  came  up  to,  if  they  did  not  surpass,  many  of  the 
great  meetings  that  won  him  national  fame.  However,  it  is  im- 
possible to  go  into  detail  about  these  meetings.  Words  could  not 
describe  the  wonderful  scenes  that  took  place  in  all  these  cities.  It 
was  the  custom  of  Mr.  Jones  to  preach  to  the  colored  people  nearly 
everywhere  he  went,  and  perhaps  in  Houston  one  of  the  greatest 
meetings  was  held  for  the  colored  folks.  The  immense  audience 
filled  the  great  tabernacle,  and  from  the  platform  the  sea  of  dark, 
earnest  faces  upturned  was  a  sight  long  to  be  remembered.  He  talked 
to  them  in  a  veiy  plain,  practical  way,  creating  wonderful  enthusi- 
asm, and  presenting  the  truths  that  they  should  know,  in  a  way  that 
the  humblest  and  most  ignorant  colored  person  could  understand. 
In  speaking  to  them  of  politics,  he  said :  "The  Democrats  and  Re- 
publicans don't  care  anything  about  your  vote,  further  than  to  help 
them  into  office — one  thinks  about  as  much  of  you  as  the  other.  The 
Democrats  and  Republicans  just  use  you  as  a  tool."  In  illustrating 
this  truth,  he  said :  "In  Virginia  there  is  a  story  told  of  General  Ma- 
hone  who,  when  he  died,  went  to  the  gate  of  heaven,  but  St.  Peter 
told  him  unless  he  was  mounted  he  could  not  come  in.  The  General 
went  away  from  the  gate  of  heaven,  and  found  an  old  darkey,  and 


Sam  p.  JoN:es.  293 

said  to  him,  'Unless  you  are  mounted  you  can't  get  through  the 
pearly  gates/  and  proposed  that  the  old  darkey  get  down  on  all- 
fours,  and  he  would  ride  him  in.  The  old  darkey  fell  down  upon  his 
hands,  and  the  General  mounted  him  and  rode  him  up  to  the  gate  of 
heaven.  St.  Peter  said,  'Are  you  mounted?'  'Yes,'  replied  the 
General.  'Well,'  said  Peter,  'hitch  your  horse  outside,  and  come  in.' 
The  General  turned  the  old  darkey  aside  and  entered  the  gate. 
Now,"  said  he,  "that's  just  what  the  politicians  do  with  you  poor 
negroes."  The  truth  so  simply  illustrated  went  home  to  their  hearts, 
and  the  thousands  of  black  men  and  women  said,  "That's  so,  boss  ; 
now  you'se  talking."  He  then  urged  them  to  live  sober  lives,  and  to 
be  true  in  their  homes  and  look"  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  their 
only  hope  to  help  now  and  hereafter.  He  was  always  a  friend  of 
the  colored  people,  and  gave  thousands  of  dollars  to  them  in  build- 
ing their  churches  and  schools. 

At  a  great  mass-meeting  held  in  Houston,  he  suggested  that  they 
organize  a  Law  and  Order  League  to  fight  the  saloons.  He  asked 
for  one  hundred  men  to  come  up  and  give  him  their  hand  and  to 
promise  to  meet  at  the  tabernacle  on  the  following  Tuesday  night 
to  perfect  the  organization.  Instead  of  one  hundred  coming,  a 
thousand  men  practically  ran  over  each  other  in  response  to  the  call. 

In  nearly  every  city  in  the  State  such  organizations  were  perfected, 
and  the  saloon  element  and  the  corrupt  municipal  affairs  were  fought 
until  the  cities  regulated  the  saloon  business.  Nearly  everywhere 
through  the  South  such  movements  followed  his  preaching. 

The  most  remarkable  men's  meetings  that  he  ever  held  were 
throughout  Texas.  He  frequently  preached  to  as  many  as  ten  thou- 
sand men,  and  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  would  come  for- 
ward, promising  to  reform  their  lives  and  begin  the  Christian  life. 
The  influence  of  these  great  meetings  went  out  into  the  neighboring 
towns  and  through  the  counties,  and  led  other  preachers  to  follow 
up  the  work,  which  resulted  in  thousands  of  conversions  and  cru- 
sades against  the  liquor  traffic.  It  would  be  almost  impossible  to  fol- 
low these  influences  and  get  any  just  estimate  of  the  final  results. 

In  many  of  these  cities  he  was  instrumental  in  raising  money  to 
build  Y.  M.  C.  A.'s  and  churches,  the  collections  frequently  ag- 


294  Sam  P.  Jones. 

gregating  from  twenty  to  fifty  thousand  dollars.  As  a  result  of  his 
work  in  Texas,  the  great  "Lone  Star  State"  was  swept  from  one 
side  to  the  other  with  the  tidal  wave  of  conviction  to  salvation  and 
municipal  reform.  It  will  require  eternity  itself  to  furnish  a  correct 
estimate  of  his  work  in  Texas. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


The  Work  in  the  South  (Continued). 

In  N^orth  Carolina  he  held  meetings  in  the  following  cities  :  Win- 
ston-Salem, Greensboro,  Durham,  Wilmington,  and  Charlotte.  A 
remarkable  revival  followed  his  ministry  in  Winston-Salem,  Greens- 
boro, and  Durham.  The  saloons  were  made  to  observe  the 
laws  in  Durham,  and  were  voted  out  in  Winston  and  Greensboro. 
These  were  not  only  great  moral  movements,  but  resulted  in  a  spir- 
itual awakening,  which  brought  hundreds  of  the  people  into  the 
different  churches. 

At  Charlotte  one  of  the  greatest  men's  meeting  of  his  entire  career 
was  held.  There  were  eight  or  ten  thousand  men  within  the  taber- 
nacle. After  he  had  preached  one  of  his  most  searching  sermons, 
strong  men  from  the  city  and  adjoining  towns  and  country  literally 
ran  over  each  other  as  they  rushed  to  the  altar  with  the  tears  stream- 
ing down  their  cheeks  begging  for  mercy  and  help.  A  thousand  or 
more  gave  their  hearts  to  God.  This  wonderful  manifestation 
swept  away  all  the  prejudices  of  the  most  fastidious,  and  the  meet- 
ing is  spoken  of  in  that  city  to-day  as  an  epoch-making  hour. 

The  saddest  incident  connected  with  the  men's  meeting  was  that 
of  a  bright  young  man,  perhaps  in  his  twenty-sixth  year,  who  was- 
conductor  on  the  Atlanta  and  Charlotte  Airline.  At  the  close  of 
Mr.  Jones's  sermon  he  walked  down  the  aisle  more  than  two-thirds 
of  the  way,  and  then  suddenly  turned  and  went  back  to  his  seat.  It 
may  have  been  the  scoff  of  a  companion,  or  the  jeer  of  a  friend  that 
turned  him  back.  The  next  morning  he  went  down  to  the  depot, 
and  about  eight  o'clock  he  stepped  on  his  train  to  leave  the  city. 
After  he  had  run  down  the  road  a  few  miles  he  held  his  train  to 
meet  another  passenger  train,  and  there  was  a  freight-box  standing 
on  the  side-track,  and  when  the  passenger  train  backed  against  it  he 

(295) 


296  Sam  P.  Jones. 

was  standing  just  in  the  rear  of  it,  was  knocked  down  and  the  wheels 
ran  over  him  from  head  to  foot,  and  mashed  the  very  watch  in  his 
pocket  until  it  was  as  thin  as  a  piece  of  tin.  Scarcely  had  fifteen 
hours  passed  since  the  sermon  until  he  was  called  into  the  presence 
of  God. 

At  Wilmington  he  held  two  great  meetings.  Rev.  W.  S.  Creasy, 
D.D.,  pastor  Grace  M.  E.  Church,  South,  was  instrumental  in  his 
going  to  Wilmington.  The  ministers  of  the  other  denominations 
were  not  at  all  in  favor  of  his  coming,  and  some  were  very  hostile ; 
however,  Dr.  Creasy,  with  a  few  of  the  ministers,  and  by  the  help 
of  Christian  laity,  prepared  for  the  great  tabernacle  movement. 

The  announcement  of  the  meeting  brought  forth  a  great  many 
criticisms,  which  appeared  in  the  Wilmington  papers.  These  were 
mostly  from  the  ministers.  One  prominent  Presbyterian  minister 
offered  four  reasons  why  he  objected  to  the  coming  of  Mr.  Jones. 
One  was,  he  lowered  the  dignity  of  the  pulpit,  and  the  other  was, 
the  danger  of  confusing  the  people  as  to  a  true  revival.  Another 
because  of  his  deep  appreciation  of  the  ministry  of  the  church,  and 
the  last  one,  as  a  conscientious  Presbyterian  he  could  not  endorse  a 
man  who  makes  a  point  of  caricaturing  what,  to  him,  was  the  most 
precious  truths  of  the  Bible. 

A  prominent  Episcopal  rector  said  he  could  not  see  that  any  really 
spiritual  good  could  possibly  be  gained  by  this  community  from  any 
preaching  by  Mr.  Jones. 

A  prominent  Baptist  preacher  fought  his  coming  from  the  start, 
and  wrote  a  lengthy  article  to  a  religious  paper,  giving  his  reason 
for  his  position,  claiming  that  Mr.  Jones's  wit  was  exceedingly 
coarse,  his  humor  low  and  vulgar,  unbecoming  a  Christian  minister 
in  any  circle,  and,  in  his  judgment,  a  gross  and  grievous  desecration 
of  the  pulpit. 

There  were  other  criticisms  offered  by  some  of  the  less  prominent 
ministers  of  the  different  denominations.  It  seemed  that  there  had 
been  formed  an  alliance  in  Wilmington  with  the  society  element, 
gamblers  and  liquor-dealers  that  made  the  ministers  fear  his  coming. 
At  any  rate,  the  society  people,  gamblers,  liquor-dealers,  and  people 


Sam  p.  Jones.  .  297 

of  that  class,  were  in  the  heartiest  sympathy  with  the  criticisms  ex- 
pressed by  these  ministers,  and  heartily  endorsed  all  of  them. 

When  Mr.  Jones  arrived  in  Wilmington  he  began  at  once  to  over- 
come the  opposition,  and  it  wasn't  long  until  these  same  ministers 
were  attending  his  services  and  cooperating  heartily  with  him  in 
the  salvation  of  the  lost.  His  preaching  against  the  worldliness  and 
wickedness  of  the  society  people,  and  his  arraignment  of  the  evils 
of  the  liquor  traffic  wrought  great  reformation  in  the  lives  of  hun- 
dreds, and  created  a  mighty  sentiment  against  the  liquor  business. 
For  ten  days  he  preached,  with  thousands  attending  his  ministry, 
and  one  of  the  greatest  meetings  held  in  North  Carolina  was  that  in 
Wilmington.  In  view  of  the  opposition  and  obstacles  that  he  over- 
came, perhaps  it  was  one  of  the  mightiest  works  of  his  life. 

In  Virginia  he  visited  Roanoke,  Danville,  Lynchburg,  and  Rich- 
mond. In  Danville,  where  an  immense  auditorium  was  erected  and 
named  "The  Sam  Jones  Tabernacle,"  he  completely  revolutionized 
the  life  of  the  people.  One  of  the  most  notable  results  of  that  meet- 
ing was  the  consecration  and  call  to  the  ministry  of  Mr.  James  E. 
Schoolfield,  a  prominent  hardware  merchant  and  cotton  manufac- 
turer. He  immediately  entered  upon  the  work  of  the  ministry  as  an 
evangelist  and  preached  all  over  the  South,  paying  his  own  expenses, 
and  became  one  of  the  most  successful  soul-winners  of  his  day.  He 
attributed  his  change  and  call  to  the  ministry  to  Mr.  Jones.  A  few 
years  ago  he  laid  down  his  armor  and  preceded  Mr.  Jones  to  his 
heavenly  reward. 

This  is  just  one  instance  of  the  thousands  of  men  who  were  con- 
verted and  called  to  the  ministry,  and  afterwards  entered  the  pas- 
torate and  evangelistic  field  to  become  honored  and  accredited  work- 
ers in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Perhaps  more  preachers  have  entered 
the  work  of  the  ministry  through  Mr.  Jones's  preaching  than  any 
other  man  living  or  dead. 

Great  results  followed  his  preaching  in  Lynchburg  and  Norfolk. 
In  Richmond  a  large  tabernacle  was  erected  on  Franklin  street,  al- 
most opposite  the  Richmond  College,  with  a  seating  capacity  of 
eleven  thousand.  As  the  tabernacle  was  located  in  the  extreme 
western  part  of  the  city,  it  was  difficult  for  the  people  to  attend,  but 
they  came  in  carriages,  on  the  street-cars,  trains,  and  afoot,  until  the 


298  Sam  P.  Jones. 

great  building  would  not  accommodate  them.  The  work  was  diffi- 
cult at  first,  but  in  his  men's  meeting  one  Sabbath  afternoon  when 
twelve  thousand  men  had  been  seated  and  three  thousand  turned 
away,  he  preached  that  masterful  sermon,  "Conscience,  Record, 
and  God."  The  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  came  upon  him,  and  the 
people,  and  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  the  men  were  standing  en 
masse  in  their  endorsement  of  his  work,  and  pledging  themselves 
to  be  faithful  Christians.  As  he  looked  down  upon  the  scene  of  that 
victory,  he  said,  turning  to  those  who  had  been  slow  to  believe, 
"What  do  you  think  of  that  ?  Thank  God  for  a  scene  in  Richmond 
like  this."  From  that  day  the  tide  had  turned,  and  Richmond  was  in 
repentance  and  seeking  salvation. 

In  Tennessee,  where  he  had  held  so  many  meetings,  he  revisited 
Jackson,  Knoxville,  Chattanooga,  Memphis,  and  Nashville.  At 
all  these  places  great  meetings  followed,  and  in  Nashville  he  con- 
tinued his  ministry  in  the  great  auditorium  that  he  had  inspired  and 
raised  the  money  for,  visiting  the  capital  city  each  successive  year, 
and  sometimes  twice  during  the  year,  for  eighteen  meetings.  The 
cause  of  temperance  in  Tennessee  was  always  very  close  to  his  heart, 
and  in  these  last  meetings  he  preached  and  pleaded  for  the  close  of 
the  saloons  and  general  prohibition,  until  the  State  now,  with  the 
exception  of  four  or  five  of  the  leading  cities,  has  local  option.  If 
the  day  comes,  and  the  signs  point  that  way,  when  the  State  is  en- 
tirely free  from  saloons,  at  the  judgment  bar  of  God  Mr.  Jones  will 
receive  much  of  the  reward  for  the  faithful  and  earnest  work  which 
closed  the  saloons. 

In  Kentucky  meetings  were  held  at  Paducah,  Hopkinsville, 
Owensboro,  Bowling  Green,  and  Louisville,  and  many  other  places. 
Large  tabernacles  were  erected  in  these  cities  for  the  meetings. 

At  Bowling  Green  the  most  wonderful  meeting  ever  held  in  Ken- 
tucky was  under  his  ministry.  Here  the  city  was  aroused  on  the 
subject  of  temperance  to  such  an  extent  that  they  closed  all  the  bar- 
rooms. Perhaps  the  hottest  fight  he  ever  had  for  the  cause  of  tem- 
perance was  during  his  meetings  in  Kentucky.  At  Bowling  Green 
a  hundred  and  twenty-five  of  the  employees  of  the  Louisville  and 
Nashville  Railroad  wrote  out  a  pledge  that  they  would  drink  and 
curse  and  carouse  no  more. 


'Do  Everything  You  Can  and  Leave  the  Rest  to  God." — Sam  Jo 


B0WI.ING  Green,  Ky.,  April  10,  1893. 

Be  it  Known  by  all  Men,  That  we,  whose  names  are  hereunto  subscribed, 
being  employeps  of  the  Louisville  &  Nashville  Railroad  Company,  and  resi- 
dents and  citizens  of  Bowling  Green,  Ky.,  having  seen  and  felt  and  realized 
the  sad  effects  of  intemperance  among  our  citizens  and  its  fatal  results  to  rail- 
road men  in  particular,  we  do  hereby  agree  and  covenant  with  each  other  not 
to  enter  a  saloon  in  Bowling  Green,  or  anywhere  else,  or  enter  a  barroom 
of  any  hotel  or  restaurant  in  said  city,  or  anywhere  else,  under  any  circum- 
stances, except  absolute  necessity  requires  our  entrance,  or  we  receive  posi- 
tive information  that  a  person  is  on  the  inside  whose  name  appears  upon 
this  list. 

We  further  agree  that,  if  at  any  time  we  find  it  impossible  to  keep  this, 
we  will  get  the  consent  of  five  (5)  members  of  this  agreement  and  have  our 
name  erased  from  this  list  before  we  enter  a  saloon  door.  We  further  agree 
that  should  we  break  or  violate  this  agreement  that  we  hereby  consent 
and  agree  that  each  remaining  member  of  this  agreement  be  furnished  a 
"card"  bearing  our  name  and  the  date  of  violation,  and  that  it  be  known 
and  said  of  us  that  we  have  sworn  falsely  and  are  not  worthy  of  confidence 
in  any  business  or  social  relation  or  transaction. 

ENGINEERS. 


C.  M.  Moore 
A.  M.  Freeman 
John  C.  Crofton 
R   E.  Hockersmith 
C.  P.  Bailey 
J.  E.  Dixon 
W.  F.  Porter 
W.  E.  Blackwell 
J.  W.  Alsup 
W.  C.  Brigham 
W.  H.Hawkins 
F.  Mulbarger 
Sam  Vann 
W.  H.  Hockersmith 
Wm.  Wolfenberger 
John  Keogh 
W.  H.  Campbell 
J   H.  Penwick 
Dock  Dean 
S.  A.  Gilson 
Ed  Satterwhite 

FIREMEN. 

T.  H.  Glenn 
M.  C.  Stage 
J   H.  Compton 
W,  D.  Perry 
Wm.  Tabor 
H.  Porter 
J   W.  Neal 
Frank  Porter 


John  Albert  Freeman 
P.  P.  I^ooney 
R.  C.  Johnson 
S.  P.  Price 
C.  R.  Smith 
B   I.  Wallace 
W.  A.  Stephens 
W.  B.  Perkins 

A.  H.  Cleveland 
J  D   Jesse 

S.  J.  Everett 
Mike  Rogers 
\V.  H.  B.  Rue 

CONDUCTORS. 

Randall  Allen 
J.  ly.  Hockersmith 
G.  F.  Cole 
H.  M.  Cole 
C.  E.  Staton 
C   C.  Medley 
W.  D   Havrorth 
Iv.  B.  Bennett 
W.  C.  Haight 
John  C.  Willett 
J.  W.  Vick 

B.  V.  Saulisbury 

BRAKEMEN. 

E.  B  Williams 
J.  M.  Burton 
S.  A.  Douglas 


E.  \\.  Hunt 
R.  E  Beck 

B.  S.  Hampton 
W. B   Faxon 
Ben  Eane 
Frane  Hogwood 
J.  J.  Bracken 

K,  Webster 
W.  J.  Lewis 
W.  S.  Taylor 

C.  M.  Huffiues 

C,  E.  Ivocke 
Ira  Ford 

W.  A^  Cassady 
W.  T   Clark 
J.  E.-Greathouse 
P.  H.  Warren 
G.  A.  Knox 

D.  Satterfield 
Albert  E-  Crook 
W.  J.  Wyatt 

J.  R.  Carter 
E-  A.  Ritter 

FLAGMEN. 

W.  D.  Buckberry 
A.  Dalton 

HOSTLEPS. 

H.  E  Funk 
R.  F.  Bracken 


CAR  REPAIRERS. 

Henry  Hardwick 
Ewing  Morgan 
J  W.  Clavpool 
W.  F.  Hawkins 
Chas.  B.  Gann 

CARPENTERS. 

John  Starr 

J.  Tom  Doores 

John  Johnson 

E.  S.  Baird 
John  W.  Doolin 
Jerrv  Thomas 
H   M.  Mitchell 

MACHINISTS. 

John  M.  Hill 
James  Hamby 

F.  M.  Roberts 
James  Smith 
Chas.  JIcMillon 

CALLERS. 

J.  W.  Burch 

M.  B.  Wolfenberger 

SWITCHMEN. 

John  G'enn 
W. W.  Evans 


NAMES  AND  OCCUPATIONS. 


J.  H.  Flowers,  Ba- gage  Master. 

F.  F.  Baughraan,  Postal  Clerk. 

J.  A.  Mitchell,  Local  Attorney. 

R.  Moran,  Master  Mechanic. 

P.  J.  Griffin,  Baggage  Master. 

Thos.  W.  Jenkins,  Express  Messenger. 


G.  W.  Thompson,  General  Agent.' 
J.  C   Follis,  Station  Baggagf  Agent. 
H.  L-  Parks,  Oil  Clerk. 
C.  H.  Allen,  Yard  Master. 
W.  H.  Stewart,  Painter. 
A.  B.  Gilson,  News  Agent. 


300  Sam  P.  Jones. 

He  preached  in  his  own  inimitable  way,  until  the  irreligious  could 
stand  the  impact  no  longer,  and  the  forces  of  Satan  were  utterly- 
broken,  and  the  rout  was  complete.  It  was  a  meting  of  wondrous 
power,  the  like  of  which  was  never  witnessed  before  in  that  city, 
and  may  never  be  again.  Men  tried  to  brace  themselves  against  the 
influence,  but  it  was  like  an  effort  to  breast  the  onrush  of  a  cyclone, 
and  they  soon  found  themselves  swept  before  the  tide  off  their  very 
feet  and  into  the  kingdom  of  God.  One  man  said  he  would  not  hear 
Sam  Jones,  and  though  often  importuned  to  go,  persistently  de- 
clined, and  sometimes  without  much  show  of  politeness.  He  con- 
tinued in  this  course,  until  the  first  Sunday  morning  of  the  revival, 
when,  strange  (?)  to  say,  he  went,  and  when  the  invitation  was  ex- 
tended, he  came  forward  and  made  a  complete  surrender. 

A  prominent  business  man  had  secured  a  large  building  for  a 
saloon,  and  had  gotten  his  license.  He  heard  Mr.  Jones  preach, 
gave  his  heart  to  God^  surrendered  the  building,  cancelled  his  li- 
cense, and  is  to-day  a  prominent  church-worker  in  that  city. 

Rev.  John  W.  Lewis,  who  was  pastor  of  the  largest  Methodist 
church,  writes :  "It  was  amusing  as  well  as  serious,  to  hear  his  ar- 
raignment of  sin  and  witness  some  of  the  attendant  scenes.  But 
it  is  rather  of  the  character  and  lasting  effects  of  his  work  that  I 
would  write.  He  reached  all  classes  from  the  old  monumental  sin- 
ner to  those  of  tender  years,  and  when  the  ten  days  were  over,  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  there  had  been  one  thousand  conversions.  The  first 
Sunday,  after  the  'Amen'  was  pronounced,  I  received  seventy-two 
into  the  church  at  one  time,  and  more  for  several  Sundays.  Many 
of  these  were  among  the  best  citizens  of  the  city,  and  some  few  were 
reclaimed  from  a  drunkard's  life.    Other  churches  shared  alike. 

"Did  the  work  last?  Yes,  emphatically,  yes.  Only  a  short  while 
ago  I  was  talking  with  one  of  Sam  Jones's  converts  at  Hopkinsville 
(we  had  just  heard  of  the  evangelist's  death),  and  he  remarked: 
'If  it  had  not  been  for  him,  the  devil  would  have  gotten  me,  sure.* 
He  is  now  and  has  been  since  his  conversion,  a  consistent  and  faith- 
ful member  of  the  church.  So  it  was  at  Bowling  Green  and  Hop- 
kinsville. Many  from  both  localities  will  rise  up,  in  the  last  day, 
and  call  him  blessed." 


Sam  p.  Jones.  301 

In  Louisiana  he  held  meetings  at  Monroe  and  New  Orleans. 
He  went  to  New  Orleans  on  the  invitation  of  the  Evangelical  Alli- 
ance, and  arrangements  were  made  for  him  to  hold  the  services  in 
the  Washington  Artillery  Hall.  His  engagement  lasted  for  a  month. 
The  principal  fight  in  New  Orleans  was  made  against  the  Louisiana 
State  Lottery.  In  a  number  of  sermons  he  preached  directly  against 
this  great  crime  and  the  spirit  of  gambling.  The  Morning  Picayune 
gave  him  three  columns  the  first  day,  two  the  second,  one  the  third, 
and,  when  he  made  his  greatest  speech  against  the  lottery,  the  paper 
refused  to  print  a  line  of  his  notice  in  the  city.  He  said :  "You  have 
been  sowing  these  Louisiana  State  Lottery  tickets  for  twenty  years ; 
you  have  now  a  harvest  of  gambling  in  this  city  enough  to  make 
the  devil  himself  tremble  to  look  at.  That  lottery  leads  to  every  sort 
of  gambling,  opens  the  gates,  the  gap  is  down,  and  thousands  of 
dollars  that  it  is  stealing  from  the  United  States  and  the  Provinces 
of  Canada,  daily  breaking  up  homes,  and  bringing  sorrows  to  moth- 
ers is  something  appalling.  I  believe  that  that  institution  could  pay 
a  tax  of  forty  thousand  dollars  a  day,  and  still  make  money.  It 
spreads  its  wings  over  this  city,  and  takes  the  clothes  off  the  backs 
of  the  children,  robs  the  poor,  and  yet  you  sit  down  and  say  nothing 
about  it.  I  know  that  there  are  powers  that  be,  that  can  say  'hush, 
and  stop,'  and  they  do  hush  and  stop  some  of  you ;  but  so  help  me 
God,  there  is  not  enough  money,  or  men,  or  devils  in  hell  to  cfush 
out  the  honest  sentiment  that  leaps  from  my  heart  and  conscience. 
If  I  were  a  member  of  the  Louisiana  State  Legislature,  I  would  vote 
against  that  contemptible  scheme  for  fear  that  somebody  would  say 
if  I  did  not  that  I  had  been  bought  by  it.  , 

"A  man  who  will  play  'seven-up'  or  'buck  a  faro-bank'  is  a  gen- 
tleman and  a  scholar  and  a  Christian  beside  a  fellow  that  will  sit 
down  and  'buck'  against  the  Louisiana  State  Lottery.  I  hit  you  that 
time — I  could  see  you  wince.  You  gamble  on  anything  in  this  city, 
from  a  million-dollar  wheat  or  a  cotton  deal  down  to  a  cigarette. 
When  will  New  Orleans  wake  up?  Georgia  and  Missouri  have 
passed  laws  against  the  lottery,  and  said  it  is  a  criminal  offense. 
The  government  will  not  allow  letters  to  go  through  the  mail,  if 
they  know  it,  and  old  New  Orleans  remains  absolutely  quiet,  and 


302  Sam  P.  Jones. 

the  balance  of  the  Union  is  standing  up  and  slapping  you  in  the  face. 
I  would  have  enough  pride  to  go  and  straighten  myself  out  before 
the  other  States  of  this  Union." 

The  crusade  against  the  open  wickedness  of  New  Orleans  con- 
tinued, while  the  audiences  grew  day  and  night,  until  there  was  the 
greatest  revival  in  the  history  of  the  town.  No  other  meeting  ever 
took  such  hold  upon  the  city.  All  the  churches  were  greatly 
strengthened,  and  many  hundred  people  were  brought  to  the  Sa- 
vior. The  stalwart  blows  given  the  Louisiana  State  Lottery  were 
the  beginning  of  the  fight  which  finally  resulted  in  the  infamous 
scheme  to  swindle  the  people  being  swept  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

In  Alabama  he  preached  in  Selma,  Mobile,  Montgomery,  and  Bir- 
mingham. The  same  results  followed  in  all  these  meetings,  and  in 
the  last  few  days  of  the  work  in  Birmingham  he  saw  more  than  a. 
thousand  souls  brought  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

After  the  arduous  labors  throughout  these  Southern  States,  Mr. 
Jones's  health  completely  broke  down,  and  for  several  years  he  had 
to  rest  from  evangelistic  labors.  The  best  physicians  in  the  land 
despaired  of  his  life,  and,  as  he  expressed  it  in  private  and  in  public, 
while  suffering  so  intensely,  "I  am  a  dying  man."  Frequently  he 
would  have  to  take  his  seat  while  preaching,  and  would  become  com- 
pletely exhausted  and  have  to  cancel  his  meetings.  But  he  could 
not  be  idle.  Believing  that  the  lecture  platform  afforded  him  a  great 
opportunity  for  doing  good,  and  as  the  speaking  was  relieved  of  the 
close  tension  of  revival  work,  he  went  all  over  the  South  lecturing, 
and  stirring  up  the  people  again.  His  lectures  were  made  up  to  a 
great  extent  of  the  reformed  element  of  his  preaching.  In  this  way 
he  continued  to  get  the  gospel  before  the  thousands.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  he  ever  lectured  without  pungent  thrusts  at  the  liquor  traf- 
fic. Letters  received  by  him,  and  in  my  possession,  and  personal 
experiences  related  to  him,  which  he  told  me  of,  attest  the  fact  that 
hundreds  were  led  to  change  their  lives  during  the  years  when  he 
devoted  much  time  to  the  lecture  field.  His  lectures  while  they  en- 
tertained, always  contained  good  and  wholesome  truths,  which  -in- 
spired men  to  renounce  their  evil  ways  and  be  better  husbands  and 


Sam   p.  Jones.  303 

sons.     His  health  was  regained,  and  he  took  every  opportunity  for 
evangeHstic  work  during  the  closing  years  of  his  life. 

In  his  last  great  tabernacle  meeting,  the  citizens  of  Cartersville 
say  they  never  heard  him  preach  with  such  earnestness  and  power. 
This  was  the  second  greatest  m.eeting  of  the  work  at  the  tabernacle. 
The  last  sermon  he  preached  in  the  meeting  was  before  an  audience 
that  filled  the  building,  and  stood  within  the  sound  of  his  voice,  that 
numbered  fifteen  thousand  or  more.  His  text  was  taken  from  Phil- 
lipians,  third  chapter,  eighth  verse :  "I  count  all  things  but  loss  for 
the  excellency  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Lord."  The  people 
will  never  forget  the  divine  presence  that  pervaded  the  assembly, 
and  the  sighs  and  groans  that  were  heard  while  he  made  his  last 
plea  for  temperance,  and  uttered  his  most  fearful  denunciations  of 
the  liquor  traffic.  Following  the  tears  and  sobs  he  spoke  to  them 
of  the  triumphs  of  faith,  and  of  the  experiences  that  he  had  been 
going  through,  and  the  great  audience  shouted  praises  to  the  great 
■Consoler  and  Comforter  of  bereaved  and  broken  hearts. 

He  went  immediately  to  Oklahoma  City,  turning  aside  a  hundred 
other  calls  to  create  a  sentiment  for  temperance,  reformation  and 
godly  living  in  the  flourishing  city  of  the  new  State.  In  a  large  un- 
finished department  store  he  preached  day  and  night  to  the  throngs, 
with  every  odd  against  him,  yet  never  murmuring  or  complaining, 
until  the  last  men's  meeting,  when  he  preached  to  the  immense 
audience  of  fathers,  husbands,  and  sons,  the  most  powerful  sermon 
that  I  ever  heard  him  deliver.  That  great  men's  meeting  resulted 
in  several  thousand  men  coming  to  the  front  and  promising  him  to 
meet  him  in  heaven. 

The  last  night  he  preached  in  the  citv,  it  was  on  "Sudden  Death," 
that  fearful  message  from  the  twenty-ninth  chapter  of  Proverbs, 
first  verse :  "He  that  being  often  reproved  hardeneth  his  neck  shall 
suddenly  be  destroyed  and  that  without  remedy." 

In  speaking  of  how  he  would  like  to  die,  if  it  should  be  God's 
will,  he  said : 

"I  don't  know  where  or  when  or  how  I  will  die.  I  may  fall  in 
the  pulpit;  I  can't  tell.  I  may  die  away  from  home;  I  can't  tell. 
Eut  this  I  say  to  you  :  If  God  will  answer  my  prayer  in  this  and  give 


304  Sam  P.  Jones. 

me  the  choice  of  my  heart,  I  would  come  home  some  day,  worn  out 
and  tired,  and  lay  quietly  down  diseased  and  sick,  upon  the  bed  in 
the  family  room,  and  there  I  would  linger  for  a  week  or  ten  days 
under  the  kind  ministration  of  my  wife  and  children ;  I  would  look 
upon  and  enjoy  their  sympathy  and  ministrations,  and  as  the  day 
drew  nigh  that  I  should  bid  them  good-by,  I  would  talk  to  my  wife 
and  talk  to  each  child ;  I  would  gather  them  about  me  daily,  encour- 
age them  to  love  God  and  live  for  God,  and  get  home  to  heaven, 
and  on  and  on  until  the  last  evening  came,  I  would  take  my  children, 
beginning  at  the  oldest,  I  would  gather  them  about  me  and  say  my 
parting  words ;  and  then,  when  the  doctors  had  turned  their  backs 
upon  me  and  said  that  my  case  had  swung  beyond  where  materia 
medica  reaches,  I  would  spend  my  last  moments  talking  to  her  who 
has  been  such  a  friend  to  me  and  who  has  helped  me  in  all  my  life. 
And  then,  when  the  last  moments  came,  I  would  wade  down  gently 
into  the  river  of  death,  and  when  the  river  should  come  up  to  my 
shoulders  I  would  reach  back  and  kiss  my  wife  and  children  good- 
by,  and  go  home  to  God  as  happy  as  any  schoolboy  ever  went  home 
from  school." 

At  the  close  of  the  personal  reference  the  great  audience  was  sub- 
dued, and  every  eye  bedewd  with  tears,  and  then  as  if  looking  into 
the  future,  and  seeing  something  that  was  hidden  to  all  of  as 
he  said  in  the  most  pathetic  and  pitiful  tone,  "Men  of  Oklahoma 
City,  look  out,  before  my  voice  has  died  out  in  your  ears,  there  will 
be  deaths  following  this  meeting  that  will  shock  this  city  and  State, 
and  maybe  this  nation." 

The  next  day,  feeling  indisposed,  he  preached  to  the  women,  while 
his  assistant  took  the  evening  service.  The  following  morning  he 
preached  a  sweet,  tender  sermon  on  "My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee." 
That  day  the  heavy  rains  came,  and  the  meeting  was  moved  from 
the  unfinished  auditorium  to  the  First  Methodist  church,  where  his 
assistant  again  preached.  The  papers  had  announced  that  the  meet- 
ing would  close  Sunday  afternoon.  He  remained  in  his  room  pray- 
ing until  the  hour  passed  for  service,  and  the  rain  was  coming  down 
in  torrents.  He  laid  down  upon  the  bed,  fell  asleep,  and  suddenly 
he  awoke,  and  turning  to  me,  said :  "Mother,  if  the  afternoon  train 


MR.  JONES  PREACHING  AT  MEN'S  MEETING,  ATLANTA,  GA. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  .      305 

should  be  running  late,  we  will  go  home,  and  not  wait  for  the  night 
train,  as  I  want  to  get  home  for  my  birthday  dinner."  Going  to 
the  room  of  his  chorister,  Mr.  E.  O.  Excell,  he  said :  "Ex.,  as  you 
are  not  well,  I  would  go  home;  it's  no  use  for  you  to  stay  any 
longer."  Then  going  to  the  room  of  his  assistant,  Mr.  Holcomb, 
he  called  him  by  his  first  name,  saying:  "We'll  go  home."  We  left 
on  the  afternoon  train,  but  before  reaching  our  home  in  Cartersville, 
he  had  gone  to  his  real  home  in  heaven. 


V         , 


11  j 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


His  Life  and  Work  at  CartersvillE. 

It  was  at  Cartersville  where  Mr.  Jones  spent  much  of  his  time  in 
his  early  days,  where  he  practiced  law,  and  led  a  dissipated  life.  It 
was  while  living  in  Cartersville  that  he  became  a  Christian.  Taking 
up  the  work  of  the  regular  ministry,  the  Conference  sent  him  away 
from  his  home.  During  his  life  in  the  itinerancy,  he  was  permitted 
to  visit  his  home  and  people  frequently,  and  when  he  began  the  work 
of  the  Decatur  Orphanage,  he  moved  to  Social  Circle,  where  he 
spent  a  year,  then  returned  to  Cartersville,  and  spent  his  entire 
Christian  life  among  the  people  who  knew  him  before  he  was  saved. 

While  in  the  early  days  his  work  at  the  Orphanage  took  him  from 
home,  and  in  later  years  his  evangelistic  meetings  and  lecture  tours 
took  him  away  from  his  people  and  friends  nearly  all  the  time ;  never- 
theless, he  always  loved  Cartersville,  and  the  interests  of  the  people 
were  very  close  to  his  heart.  He  felt  as  he  had  led  his  dissipated 
days  here,  that  he  wanted  to  live  his  Christian  life  here,  and,  as 
far  as  possible,  counteract  any  bad  influence.  He  had  held  a  number 
of  bush-arbor  meetings  in  the  State  and  some  in  Mississippi  and 
Alabama  that  had  made  quite  an  impression  upon  his  own  mind. 
The  people  in  our  county  near  Cassville,  who  were  great  admir- 
ers of  Mr.  Jones,  were  anxious  for  him  to  come  and  hold  a  meeting 
in  their  community.  They  told  him  they  would  build  a  bush  arbor, 
and  he  agreed  to  hold  a  service  for  them.  The  different  churches 
came  together  and  erected  the  arbor. 

Mr.  Jones  held  a  remarkable  meeting  there,  which  resulted  in 
the  conversion  of  some  of  the  most  influential  men  in  the  county. 
The  entire  neighborhood  was  wonderfully  transformed.  The  Car- 
tersville people  had  heard  of  the  meeting,  and  wanted  to  have  a  bush 
arbor  meeting  here.     Mr.  Jones  believed  that  this  would  be  the  best 

(306) 


REV.  JOE  JONF?,   MR,  JONES'  BROTHER. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  307 

way  to  reach  his  former  associates  and  win  them  for  Christ.  The 
citizens  put  up  an  immense  bush  arbor  which  would  seat  about  four 
thousand  people.  Mr.  Jones  invited  in  a  number  of  ministers  to 
assist  him  in  this  first  meeting.  The  pastors  of  the  churches  in  the 
town  cooperated  heartily  in  the  work.  Rev.  J.  A.  Bowen,  whom  he 
had  assisted  in  a  meeting  at  Corinth,  Mississippi,  came  and  labored 
with  him  in  the  services.  This  was  in  September,  1884.  Great 
crowds  from  every  direction  came  to  this  first  meeting,  and  hun- 
dreds were  converted  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Mr.  Jones  pleaded 
earnestly  with  the  men,  w^ho  had  lived  dissipated  lives  with  him, 
and  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  last  one  of  them  saved.  One  of 
the  converts  was  his  brother  Joe  Jones,  who  entered  the  ministry, 
and  became  a  most  useful  and  effective  evangelist.  He  died  sud- 
denly in  Mr.  Jones's  room  in  his  presence. 

This  was  one  of  the  greatest  meetings  ever  held  in  Cartersville. 
There  were  over  two  hundred  people  who  joined  the  dijfferent 
churches  at  the  close  of  the  meeting.  At  that  time  there  were  eigh- 
teen saloons  in  the  town.  He  had  made  terrific  assaults  upon  the 
traffic  during  the  meeting  and  created  a  strong  sentiment  against  the 
saloon.  An  election  was  called  in  December  of  1884,  and  one  of 
the  hardest  prohibition  fights  and  the  closest  election  occurred  in 
Cartersville.  There  was  a  carpenter  in  here  who  would  go  around 
to  one  of  the  saloons  every  morning,  and  clean  it  out  for  his  morn- 
ing drink  of  liquor.  On  the  day  of  the  election,  he  went  around  and 
did  his  work  and  had  his  drink.  Some  one  said  to  him,  "Are  you 
going  to  vote  for  the  saloon  to-day?"  He  answered,  "I  am  if  I 
don't  go  to  hell."  Immediately  he  dropped  dead  in  the  saloon. 
When  the  votes  had  been  cast  and  the  ballots  counted,  the  prohibi- 
tionists had  carried  the  town  by  a  majority  of  two.  It  is  said  that 
this  old  man's  death  influenced  his  son  and  others  in  not  voting  for 
liquor,  and  perhaps  in  the  Providence  of  God  carried  much  weight 
in  freeing  the  town  from  the  curses  of  the  open  saloon. 

The  following  year  the  people  desired  another  meeting,  and  the 
great  gospel  tent  that  Mr.  Jones  had  used  in  his  meetings  in  Nash- 
ville was  rented  for  the  services.  It  was  a  mammoth  tent  and  would 
accommodate  six  thousand  people.    The  interest  of  the  last  meeting 


308  Sam  P.  Joms. 

had  not  waned,  and  the  second  great  campaign  began  with  earnest- 
ness and  enthusiasm.  Larger  crowds  were  in  attendance  from  the 
very  first.  Mr.  Jones  had  the  assistance  of  a  number  of  prominent 
ministers  of  all  denominations  and  preached  himself  with  marked 
power.  It  was  at  this  meeting  that  the  Rev.  Sam  W.  Small,  who 
was  the  reporter  at  that  time  on  the  Atlanta  Constitution,  came  up 
to  get  Mr.  Jones's  sermon  for  the  paper.  The  subject  of  the  sermon 
was,  "Conscience,  Record,  and  God."  Mr.  Small  began  to  make  a 
stenographic  report  of  his  utterances,  when  suddenly  he  lost  sight 
of  his  mission,  dropped  his  pencil  and  tablet,  and  was  lost  in  what 
the  preacher  was  saying.  Instead  of  his  taking  down  the  sermon,  the 
sermon  had  taken  him  down.  When  the  invitation  was  extended, 
he  made  a  profession  and  began  to  work  in  the  meetings,  and  before 
it  closed  related  his  experience.  While  the  saloons  had  been  voted 
out,  the  blind  tigers  had  gotten  in  their  work.  Mr.  Jones  preached 
against  them  with  all  the  power  of  his  being. 

On  Friday  night  he  spoke  of  the  violation  of  the  prohibition  law. 
He  said :  "It's  a  shame  for  decent  people  to  allow  a  few  sneaking, 
skulking  scoundrels,  who  were  not  fit  to  feed  hogs,  to  perpetrate 
their  crimes  upon  the  people,"  and  said :  "I'll  give  you  notice  this 
infernal  business  must  stop."  On  Saturday  night  the  liquor  vendors 
took  dynamite  to  Mr.  Jones's  barn.  Next  morning  there  was  found 
a  fuse  about  two  feet  long  that  belonged  to  a  dynamite  cartridge. 
It  had  been  fired  and  the  explosion  blew  the  floor  out  of  the  buggy- 
house,  the  heavy  two  by  ten  sleepers,  right  new,  had  been  shattered, 
as  if  by  a  bolt  of  lightning.  A  new  carriage  and  a  buggy  and  a  new 
wagon  had  been  blown  against  the  walls  of  the  building.  When  the 
explosion  occurred,  the  people  in  the  tent  on  the  hillside  were  awak- 
ened and  saw  the  flash,  as  if  a  bolt  of  lightning  had  caused  it.  Mr. 
Jones  and  his  family  were  awakened  by  the  noise,  but  thought  that 
it  was  an  explosion  of  a  torpedo  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood, 
as  there  was  much  blasting  going  on  at  the  neighboring  mines.  The 
next  morning  the  servants  upon  going  to  the  barn,  saw  that  it  had 
been  torn  up  with  dynamite.  Mr.  Jones  received  a  postal-card  that 
morning  saying :  "If  you  don't  shut  your  mouth,  we  will  put  it  under 
your  house,  and  blow  you,  your  wife  and  your  children  into  eter- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  309 

nity."  He  showed  me  the  card,  and  said :  "Wife,  here's  what  they 
say — what  shall  we  do  about  it?"  We  thought  over  the  matter 
prayerfully,  and  decided,  as  he  expressed  it,  "that  it  was  just  as 
near  to  heaven  by  the  dynamite  route  as  any,"  and  he  went  to  the 
tent  and  preached  that  Sunday  morning  as  never  before. 

The  next  year  the  citizens  decided  to  make  the  annual  meetings 
permanent,  and  at  a  conference  Mr.  Jones  proposed  to  the  people 
that  if  they  would  buy  the  land,  that  he  would  put  up  the  tabernacle. 
The  lot  was  purchased  by  public  subscription,  and  Mr.  Jones  built 
the  tabernacle  with  his  own  money,  which  stands  in  our  city  to-day. 

Year  after  year  these  great  meetings  continued.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  one  year,  they  have  been  held  annually  since  they  were 
inaugurated.  Mr.  Jones  has  preached  ,some  of  his  best  ser- 
mons here,  and  while  he  has  invited  the  leading  ministers  from  all 
denominations  throughout  the  United  States,  the  people  have  heard 
him  with  more  appreciation  than  any  one  that  he  has  ever  brought 
to  Cartersville.  He  has  always  used  the  occasion  to  create  a  senti- 
ment against  the  sale  of  liquor  through  blind-tigers,  or  drug-stores, 
or  firms  in  Atlanta,  and  had  succeeded  in  keeping  the  saloons  out  of 
Cartersville.  They  have  always  been  seasons  of  great  spiritual  up- 
lift and  rejoicing. 

His  interest  in  Cartersville  was  always  the  keenest,  and  it  mat- 
tered not  where  he  was,  if  his  service  was  needed  he  would  leave 
his  work  and  come  home  on  the  first  train  to  fight  the  battles  for  the 
mothers  and  wives  and  daughters  and  citizens  of  his  home  town. 
One  of  the  most  remarkable  incidents  happened  on  July  14,  1890. 
Mr.  Jones  heard  that  some  men  had  come  from  another  city  to  make 
arrangements  for  the  sale  of  liquor  in  Cartersville,  through  the 
agency  of  "original  package  business."  He  immediately  got  aboard 
the  train  and  left  for  Cartersville,  and  arrived  on  the  first  train.  He 
called  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  to  be  held  at  the  tabernacle,  which 
convened  at  eight  o'clock.  An  immense  audience  was  present.  The 
chairman  explained  the  object  of  the  meeting,  and  Mr,  Jones  made 
a  speech  and  offered  the  following  resolutions : 

"Whereas,  The  original  package  scheme  is  vexing  many  parts 
of  our  county,  and 


310  Sam  P.  Jones. 

"Whereas,  Cartersville  is  exposed  to  this  scheme,  as  any  other 
respectable  tovvai  in  the  United  States,  and 

"Whereas,  We  are  ah-eady  threatened  with  the  vexed  nuisance; 
therefore,  be  it 

"Resolved,  first,  That  we  do  not  want  whisky  sold  in  our  com- 
munity, or  in  Bartow  county,  in  'original'  or  any  other  sort  of 
'packages.' 

"Secondly,  It  shall  not  be  done. 

"Thirdly,  We  propose  to  concentrate  the  sentiment  of  our  com- 
munity so  that  we  will  guarantee  to  make  an  'original  package'  out 
of  any  contemptible  scoundrel  who  attempts  to  run  that  game  on  us 
to  the  destruction  of  peace  and  good  order  of  our  sober,  law-abiding 
community. 

"Fourthly,  We  pledge  ourselves  to  carry  out  these  resolutions." 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted,  and  those  who  had 
proposed  to  ship  liquor  into  Cartersville  took  the  first  train  and 
left  the  town. 

Thus  he  continued  the  fight  against  intemperance  until  the  \try 
last. 

Once  we  considered  leaving  here,  that  being  almost  fourteen  years 
ago.  Mr.  Jones  made  up  his  mind  to  go  to  Marietta,  Georgia,  where 
we  would  be  more  conveniently  located,  and  would  give  him  several 
hours  at  home,  on  account  of  access  to  a  greater  number  of  trains 
going  into  Atlanta.  After  coming  to  this  conclusion,  we  went  to 
Marietta  and  purchased  a  beautiful  residence,  not  making  mention 
of  this  fact  to  any  of  our  friends  in  Cartersville.  After  having  made 
the  purchase,  we  came  home  and  talked  the  matter  over  with  a  few 
friends,  and  these  friends  were  so  much  exercised  over  it  that  they 
told  others,  and  soon  it  became  known  in  Cartersville  that  we  were 
going  to  leave  our  home  here  and  go  to  live  in  Marietta,  in  the  fu- 
ture. When  this  news  was  spread  abroad,  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
events  of  our  lives  happened.  Its  influence  was  so  great  that  we 
could  but  feel  its  power,  and  although  we  had  purchased  this  beau- 
tiful residence,  we  disposed  of  it. 

On  the  day  of  our  decision,  and  when  it  became  generally  known, 
a  little  after  dark,  I  answered  the  ring  of  our  front  door-bell.    Mr. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  311 

Jones  was  visiting  one  of  our  married  daughters  who  lived  near  by. 
The  front  yard  and  the  veranda  were  full  of  people,  and  I  could  not 
imagine  tlie  cause  of  the  crowd.  About  this  time  a  noise  at  the 
backdoor  caused  some  one  to  open  it,  and  the  backyard  and  veranda 
were  full  of  colored  people. 

Mr.  Jones  came  in  a  few  moments  later.  Several  of  our 
prominent  citizens  had  appointed  Col.  Warren  Ai'cen,  one  of  our 
most  gifted  lawyers,  as  well  as  one  of  our  perr  jnal  friends,  as 
spokesman  for  the  white  people  of  Carters ville.  \\  hen  he  had  spo- 
ken about  twenty  minutes  telling  us  of  the  love  an  1  respect  in  v^^hich 
Mr.  Jones  was  held  in  his  home  town,  and  urging  us  to  give  up  the 
idea  of  moving  away,  the  one  appointed  as  spokesman  for 
the  negroes  stepped  forward  and  with  a  voice  full  of  emotion  said : 
"Mr.  Jones,  we  colored  people  don't  want  you  to  move  away  from 
Cartersville.  We  feel  that  you  were  the  instrument  in  God's  hands 
in  putting  whisky  out  of  our  town,  and  we  believe  that  if  you  go 
away  from  here  it  will  come  back  again,  that  we  will  not  be  strong 
enough  to  keep  it  out,  and  we  beg  of  you,  Mr.  Jones,  not  to  go  away. 
You  have  been  our  guide  and  comforter  in  times  of  sickness  and 
distress  and  death,  and  we  just  don't  want  you  to  go  away.  But, 
Mr.  Jones,  if  you  are  determined  to  go,  although  we  don't  want  you 
to  go,  please  don't  take  'Miss  Laura.'  She  is  so  good  to  us ;  she 
feeds  us  when  we  are  hungry,  clothes  us  when  we  are  naked  and 
prays  with  us  when  we  are  in  sorrow,  and  we  just  can't  let  her  and 
them  children  go.  And,  Mr.  Jones,  have  you  ever  thought  about  it 
while  you  were  off  on  God's  business,  not  one  time  has  'Miss  Laura' 
and  the  children  been  harmed?  No  one  has  come  here  to  harm  or 
hurt  them,  and  now,  Mr.  Jones,  if  you  must  go,  you  go,  but  leave 
Miss  Laura  and  the  children."  They  protested  against  his  going 
away  from  Cartersville.  They  plead  with  tender  words  of  affection 
for  us  to  remain  here.  They  said  they  could  not  gWe  him  -up.  I 
could  not  in  a  full  page  of  this  volume  give  the  arguments  they  ad- 
vanced, in  thus  urging  him  to  stay.  Time  and  again  they  repeated 
the  words,  "We  can  not  let  you  go."  This  appeal  melted  our  hearts 
and  we  decided  to  give  up  all  thought  of  ever  leaving  Cartersville. 
In  succeeding  years  he  again  and  again  alluded  to  the  scenes  of  that 


312  Sam  P.  Jones. 

memorable  night.  This  affectionate  interest  was  like  refreshing  dew 
to  his  spirit,  when  he  was  worn  down  with  many  cares  and  beset  by 
worry  and  difficulties.  No  man  ever  had  a  greater  number  of  friends 
and  no  man  was  ever  more  sincere  in  his  friendships. 

Last  September  he  held  his  last  meeting  in  the  tabernacle.  He 
invited  some  of  his  closest  friends  and  best  workers  from  all  parts  of 
the  United  States.  It  was  conceded  by  all  to  be  the  most  spiritual 
and  helpful  revival  that  had  been  held  since  the  first  great  bush-arbor 
meeting.  Mr.  Jones  preached  several  times,  and  Sunday  morning 
he  made  his  last  address.  He  began  by  preaching  a  most  thoughtful, 
elegant  and  refined  sermon,  but  near  the  middle  of  his  discourse  he 
thought  of  the  efforts  being  made  to  advertise  liquor  in  Cartersville, 
and  ship  it  in  from  Atlanta,  and  he  turned  aside  from  his  discourse 
and  spoke  more  powerfully  than  ever  against  the  evils  of  the  liquor 
traffic,  and  of  the  infamous  efforts  to  debauch  the  town  with  the  jug 
trade.  The  following  account  of  his  sermon  appeared  in  the  Geor- 
gian, and  we  reproduce  it  as  his  last  utterances  against  whisky  in 
his  town : 

"A  prominent  liquor  dealer  of  Atlanta,  who  caused  the  city  of 
Cartersville  to  be  placarded  with  posters,  advertising  their  whiskies, 
and  which,  especially  at  this  time,  are  very  offensive  to  me  and  the 
Christian  people  of  this  community.  He  handled  the  company  with- 
out gloves,  and  many  people  who  have  often  heard  the  evangelist 
handle  evil-doers  in  a  vigorous  manner  say  that  he  far  surpassed 
all  his  previous  efforts,  and  that  they  had  never  before  heard  him 
administer  so  stinging  a  rebuke,  nor  attack  any  one  with  such  blis- 
tering invective. 

"  Tt  is  impossible,'  said  Mr.  Jones,  'for  one  to  get  a  word  in  an 
Atlanta  daily  newspaper  that  would  hurt  a  whisky  man  by  name,  as 
it  would  be  to  grow  pineapples  in  frozen  Alaska,  or  to  get  a  bucket 
of  water  in  hell. 

"  *To-day  poor  old  Atlanta  is  trembling  in  the  throes  of  a  horrible 
race  war.  She  is  reaping  what  she  has  sown.  The  greed  of  her 
citizens  has  licensed  the  saloon,  the  hog-wallows  of  hell,  and  these 
dives  have  been  dishing  out  to  the  low,  black  and  white,  the  stuff 
that  infiames  their  passions  and  causes  the  negroes  to  commit  name- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  313 

less  crimes.  The  morning  papers  tell  us  that  a  large  number  of 
negroes  and  several  white  people  have  been  killed  and  wounded,  and 
that  our  city  of  Atlanta,  the  pride  of  Georgia,  is  now  all  but  under 
martial  law,  trembling  with  fear  for  the  lives  of  its  men,  and  fearful 
as  to  the  fate  of  its  women.  The  Sunday  morning  papers  of  Atlanta 
tell  us  in  great  headlines  of  the  horrors  that  have  taken  place  in  At- 
lanta, but  not  one  of  them  will  say  a  word  against  the  real  root  and 
cause  of  the  trouble,  nor  will  they  permit  any  one  else  to  strike 
through  their  columns  at  their  owners.' 

"Speaking  of  the  advertisements  that  have  been  placed  upon  the 
boards  in  Cartersville,  Air.  Jones  said : 

"  'If  I  had  been  mayor  of  this  town  when- they  put  those  damn- 
able things  on  those  billboards,  I  would  have  torn  them  off  if  it  had 
involved  the  city  of  Cartersville  in  a  lawsuit  that  would  have  ended 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States.  And  yet  this  dirty 
scoundrel  that  has  the  insolence  to  come  to  this  town  with  his  in- 
fernal advertising,  will  pay  the  Atlanta  newspapers  for  a  full  page 
of  advertising,  inviting  the  ladies  of  Atlanta  down  to  drink  his 
damnable  stuff.  I  would  as  soon  think  of  permitting  my  negi'o 
Charlie  to  commit  a  nameless  crime  and  then  come  back  to  work 
for  me,  as  to  have  him  to  go  to  his  place  at  any  time. 

"  'I  can  not  understand  how  the  men  of  Atlanta  could  let  that 
insult  to  their  women  go  unchallenged,  and  why  they  did  not  take 
the  dirty  devil  out  and  cowhide  him  then  and  there.  \A^omen  drink- 
ing at  his  store  !    Think  of  it.' 

"Mr.  Jones  devoted  most  of  his  sermon  to  the  denunciation  of  the 
liquor  traffic  and  to  the  newspapers  and  politicians  that  were  owned 
by  the  whisky  interests,  and  when  he  had  finished  his  sermon,  he 
asked  all  who  would  endorse  what  he  had  said  to  get  'on  your  hind 
legs  and  say  so.' 

"Amidst  deafening  applause  the  great  audience  arose  and  gave 
its  endorsement  to  what  Mr.  Jones  had  said. 

"While  the  audience  was  standing,  Mr.  Jones  turned  to  the  re- 
porters, who  were  also  standing,  and  said : 

"  'Now,  Bud,  you  tell  that  firm  that  if  it's  going  to  get  mad,  it 
will  have  to  get  mad  with  eight  thousand  people  who  have  stood  up 


314  Sam  P.  Jones. 

and  said  what  I  have  said  is  true,  and  that  they  endorse  every  word 
of  it.'" 

In  many  other  ways,  as  he  served  the  people  of  Cartersville  by 
his  labor  of  love,  he  won  for  himself  a  place  in  their  hearts  that  time 
will  only  make  larger  and  safer  and  warmer. 

A  letter  from  a  gentleman  in  San  Francisco,  to  the  postmaster  of 
Cartersville,  was  turned  over  to  the  mayor  of  our  city  for  reply. 
After  Mayor  Gilreath  had  replied  to  the  letter,  he  wrote  the  follow- 
ing one  to  Mr.  Jones,  which  explains  itself : 

"Dear  Brother  Jones  :  About  a  month  ago  Walter  Akerman 
handed  me  a  letter  from  Wm.  B.  Hargan,  of  San  Francisco,  making 
inquiry  of  Rev.  Sam  Jones,  in  which  letter  he  asked  if  you  were 
still  alive  and  still  preaching,  and  if  you  were  still  true  to  the  cause 
of  Christ  and  living  right,  etc.,  etc.    I  replied  to  the  same  as  follows  : 

'■''  'Wm.  B.  Hargan,  Esq.,  4p  Third  St.,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

"  'Dear  Sir  :  Your  favor  to  the  postmaster  here  making  inquiry 
of  the  Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones  was  handed  me  by  the  postmaster,  for  re- 
ply. It  affords  me  a  great  deal  of  pleaseure  to  say  in  reply,  that 
Brother  Jones  is  still  alive  and  in  good  health.  He  is  still  in  the 
ministry  and  still  doing  a  great  work  for  the  Master's  cause,  and  if 
it  was  not  vain  to  wish,  I  would  be  glad  he  could  live  a  thousand 
years  yet.  We  all  love  him,  and  no  man  has  done  more  for  the  cause 
of  Christ  than  our  own  Sam  Jones.  You  ask  if  he  is  a  wealthy  man. 
Will  say,  that  he  is  not  a  wealthy  man,  but  lives  well  and  has  plenty 
— but  this  is  no  more  than  every  man  and  individual  is  entitled  to 
who  lives  right,  puts  his  whole  trust  in  Christ  and  gives  his  life's 
work  for  the  cause  of  Christ.  Psalm  84:11  :  "The  Lord  God  is  a 
sun  and  a  shield :  the  Lord  will  give  grace  and  glory ;  no  good  thing 
will  he  withhold  from  them  that  walk  uprightly."  Brother  Jones 
lives  in  Canaan's  land,  temporally  speaking.  A  true  child  of  God 
has  everything  he  w^ants,  both  here  and  hereafter.  Sam  Jones  has 
given  away  a  fortune  to  charity  and  worthy  causes,  and  if  a  man  has 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  315 

his  investments  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  don't  you  know  that  this 
stock  never  fails  to  pay  handsome  dividends? 
Signed  "  'Very  respectfully, 

"  TauIv  GilrEath,  Mayor.' 
"I  send  you  herewith  a  letter  which  I  received  from  this  party  in 
which  he  says  he  was  converted  from  having  read  one  of  your  ser- 
mons in  print.  These  things  no  doubt  do  your  heart  good  to  know 
them,  and  encourage  you  in  your  work,  and  for  this  reason  I  am 
sending  you  the  correspondence.  Wishing  you  perfect  happiness 
here  always,  and  a  glorious  eternity,  I  am,  truly  and  sincerely, 

"Your  friend,  P.  G." 


CHAPTER  XXXIIL 


Mr.  JoN:es — A  Study. 

After  having  given  an  account  of  Mr.  Jones's  life  and  work,  it  is 
fitting  that  I  should  give  an  estimate  of  the  man  himself,  as  he 
served  his  day  and  generation,  in  different  ways.  It  is  conceded  by 
all  thinkers  that  Mr.  Jones  was  one  of  the  best  all-around  men  that 
this  or  any  other  century  has  produced.  To  give  a  critical  and  de- 
tailed discussion  of  his  many  qualities  would  demand  time.  To  dis- 
cuss him  in  the  many  capacities  which  he  served  his  day  would  also 
require  much  space.  To  present  him  fully  in  his  true  light  in  these 
different  manifestations,  it  would  necessitate  the  work  of  a  specialist 
in  each  department  to  do  him  justice. 

It  is  not  the  purpose  and  scope  of  this  book  to  furnish  such  a 
study.  However,  I  will  present  him  briefly,  in  a  way  that  will  be 
suggestive  to  the  thoughtful,  who  wish  to  know  more  of  the  secret 
of  the  man  who  has  accomplished  such  mighty  results. 

I. — THE  MAN. 

In  the  first  place,  let  us  think  about  him  as  a  man.  Some  of  the 
essentials  to  manhood  are  as  follows :  First,  the  power  to  choose 
between  right  and  wrong.  A  man  must  have  a  clear  conception  of 
what  is  right,  and  what  is  wrong.  He  must  be  able  to  draw  the  lines 
of  demarcation,  and  separate  the  good  from  the  bad.  We  see  these 
elements  of  manhood  in  Joshua,  who  said :  "Choose  you  this  day 
whom  you  will  serve."  In  Elijah,  who  separated  the  prophets  and 
followers  of  Baal  from  those  of  God.  In  Paul,  who  said :  "This 
one  thing  I  do."  In  Jesus  Christ,  who  said:  "No  man  can  serve 
two  masters."  "He  that  is  not  with  me,  is  against  me."  "He  who 
gathereth  not  with  me,  scattereth  abroad."  Mr.  Jones's  mind  saw 
these  distinctions  and  lines  more  clearly  than  any  living  man.    In  aa 

(316) 


;  ^  '    '  Sam  p.  Jones.  317 

instant  he  could  see  all  around  a  subject,  and  dissect  it,  and  lay  the 
evil  and  the  good  bare  before  his  eyes.  His  natural  ability  in  this  re- 
spect was  supplemented  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  He  had  the  power  to 
choose. 

The  second  essential  is  an  indomitable  purpose  to  do  the  right. 
Daniel  possessed  this  power  when  "he  purposed  in  his  heart  that  he 
would  not  defile  himself."  David,  when  he  said,  "Oh,  God,  my 
heart  is  fixed."  Elijah,  when  he  asked,  "Why  halt  ye  between  two 
opinions?  If  God  be  God,  serve  him;  if  Baal,  serve  him."  No 
man  was  ever  more  thoroughly  possessed  with  a  determined  pur- 
pose than  he.  It  permeated  his  being.  With  the  first  question,  "Is 
it  right?"  settled,  the  next  was,  the  determination  to  do  it,  let  the 
consequences  be  what  they  might.  He  has  been  known  to  literally 
take  his  life  in  his  hand,  and  go  before  an  individual,  or  an  audience, 
and  carry  out  his  purpose  to  a  finish,  without  a  tremor  or  the  slight- 
est sign  of  fear.  If  he  had  known  that  the  next  moment  after  he 
carried  out  a  formed  purpose  would  bring  an  assassin  to  his  feet  to 
shoot  him  down  in  cold  blood,  before  he  would  have  retreated  or 
run  up  the  white  flag  he  would  have  been  shot  down  in  his  tracks. 
With  all  the  temptations  made  strong  by  heredity  or  environment, 
or  former  dissipation,  he  fought  ofT  the  evil,  and  lived  the  cleanest, 
soberest,  and  purest  life  ;  one  that  he  would  not  ask  a  mother,  a  wife, 
or  a  daughter  to  surpass.  Such  a  well-defined  and  determined  pur- 
pose few  men  possessed. 

In  the  third  place,  courage  is  another  element  of  strength.  While 
a  man  might  have  the  power  to  choose,  and  the  power  to  purpose, 
he  must  be  courageous  to  obtain  the  highest  moral  culture.  He  has 
demonstrated  to  the  world  in  the  last  thirty-five  years  his  physical 
and  moral  courage ;  the  personal  attacks  made  upon  him,  and  manly 
defense  of  his  person  proves  to  the  world  that  he  was  as  courageous 
as  a  lion.  His  attack  upon  vices  and  sins  of  cultured  society,  and 
his  denunciations  of  the  liquor  traffic,  the  most  omnipotent  power 
in  the  United  States  to-day,  in  which  he  was  compelled  to  score  the 
officials  of  our  great  commonwealth,  from  the  President,  the  Govern- 
or, the  supreme  judge,  and  circuit  judge,  to  mayor,  chief  of  police, 
and  the  church  officials  in  sympathy  with  them,  impressed  the  world 


318  Sam  P.  Jones. 

with  a  courage  as  strong  as  death.  He  said :  "I  am  the  only  man 
who  runs  directly  against  the  trend  of  present-day  society.  I  never 
follow  the  grain,  but  run  directly  contrary  to  it.  There  are  plenty  of 
men  who  believe  just  as  I  do,  but  I  am  the  only  one  who  opposes 
every  custom  and  practice  of  the  people  of  position  and  brain,  whose 
lives  contradict  the  teachings  of  the  Bible.  I  never  stand  beforfe  an 
audience  but  what  I  am  compelled  to  cross  them,  somewhere,  most 
every  time  I  open  my  mouth."  This  was  absolutely  true,  and  dem- 
onstrated his  courage. 

In  the  fourth  place,  there  must  be  downright  honesty  as  an  in- 
gredient of  manhood.  In  the  trivial,  as  well  as  the  great  things  of 
life,  a  man  must  be  honest.  Every  one  who  had  dealings  with  him, 
or  knew  anything  about  him,  will  admit  that  he  was  absolutely  hon- 
est in  every  particular  of  his  life. 

A  citizen  of  his  own  town,  who  had  a  misunderstanding  with  him, 
which  resulted  in  blows,  said  of  him,  in  the  public  press  after  his 
death :  "The  only  fault  he  had,  if  such  it  can  be  called,  was  that  he 
was  too  honest;  being  so  honest  himself,  he  couldn't  conceive  how 
other  people  could  be  anything  else."  From  the  most  prominent 
man  down  to  the  humblest  laborer,  the  consensus  of  opinion  was  his 
absolute  honesty. 

Another  essential  in  a  well-rounded  character  is  tenderness.  In 
his  home  and  with  his  friends,  and  in  dealing  with  his  enemies ;  in 
the  presence  of  the  needy  and  repentant,  in  the  sick-chamber,  and  in 
the  presence  of  death  such  tenderness  and  gentleness  can  scarcely  be 
found  in  any  other  life.  Every  expression,  movement  and  word 
seemed  to  be  the  personification  of  gentleness  and  kindness,  when 
the  occasion  demanded  such.  It  was  his  heart  that  really  encircled 
the  world,  and  made  for  him  the  thousands  of  close  friends.  They 
were  unconsciously  drawn  by  his  tenderness,  like  a  needle  is  drawn 
by  a  magnet. 

When  a  Governor  or  a  President  dies,  he  is  honored  because  of 
the  position  he  occupies,  but  when  a  private  citizen  passes  away,  if 
honored  at  all,  it  must  be  because  his  life  commands  it. 

While  the  press  of  the  United  States  gave  him  as  much  promi- 
nence, in  publishing  accounts  of  his  death,  as  it  would  have  done  the 


Sam  p.  Jones.  319 

best  beloved  Governor  or  the  President  of  the  Union,  it  was  because 
he  had  so  impressed  himself  upon  the  people,  that  his  death  was  felt 
to  be  a  national  loss. 

II. — THE    CITIZEN, 

Passing  from  Mr.  Jones  as  a  man,  he  next  appears  as  a  citizen. 
Good  citizenship  is  the  outgrowth  of  manhood.  No  man  can  be  a 
real  citizen  without  character  as  the  basis.  Mr.  Jones  was  pre- 
eminently a  citizen.  He  possessed  all  the  characteristics  of  first- 
class  citizenship.  He  was  interested  in  the  material  development  of 
his  own  town  and  State.  Wherever  he  preached  or  lectured,  he  was 
interested 'in  the  things  that  develop  a  town  and  a  community.  The 
financial  good  of  the  people  where  he  lived,.as  well  as  the  thousands 
wherever  he  labored,  was  always  near  his  heart.  He  thought,  rea- 
soned, and  devised  plans  for  the  financial  betterment  of  those  whose 
lives  were  thrown  in  contact  with  his. 

He  had  the  intellectual  good  of  the  people  at  heart.  He  believed 
in  good  schools,  good  libraries,  good  colleges,  good  universities,  and 
while  his  clear  conception  of  what  intellectual  achievement  should 
consist  in,  made  him  fight  some  of  the  vagaries  connected  with  in- 
tellectual attainments,  he  was  ever  ready  and  willing  to  give  his 
influence  and  money  for  the  education  of  the  people,  in  his  own 
town  and  wherever  he  found  them. 

But,  to  be  the  highest  type  of  a  citizen,  one  must  have  at  heart 
the  moral  good  of  the  people.  And  whether  high  or  low,  rich  or 
poor,  white  or  black,  he  prayed,  labored  and  died  to  make  good  men 
and  women  out  of  the  citizens  of  every  town  and  city  where  he  went. 
The  people  in  Cartersville  not  only  realized  that  they  had  lost  a 
friend,  a  good  man,  and  a  great  preacher  in  his  death,  but  felt  most 
keenly  that  they  had  lost  an  invaluable  citizen,  and  the  man  that 
had  done  more  than  any  other  to  make  Cartersville  what  it  is,  and 
to  give  it  its  place  before  the  world. 

One  of  his  most  remarkable  traits  was,  that  you  could  receive 
favors  from  him,  and  feel  sure  that  you  would  never  be  reminded 
of  your  obligation  to  him.     No  favor  ever  received  from  him  sub- 


320  Sam  P.  Jones. 

jected  you  to  any  risk  of  embarrassment  afterwards.  His  was  the 
friendship  that  deHghted  in  doing  for  others  without  any  desire  for 
a  return  of  favors. 

III. THE    PREACHER. 

As  a  preacher,  Mr.  Jones  logically  appears  next.  In  this  capacity 
he  was  at  his  best.  From  the  ver}^  beginning,  he  was  a  true  pastor, 
visiting  his  flock,  an  inspired  preacher  instructing  his  hearers.  His 
work  continued  to  the  end  just  as  earnestly  and  faithfully  as  it  was 
begun.  While  he  did  not  have  charge  of  pastorates  in  later  years, 
he  nevertheless  did  pastoral  work  in  his  home  town,  and  in  the  great 
cities  where  he  labored.  During  his  last  tabernacle  meeting  he  fre- 
quently would  leave  the  services  in  charge  of  others  and  take  his 
horse  and  buggy  and  visit  the  poor  and  the  sick,  to  cheer  them  on 
their  way.  He  has  left  his  hotel  and  gone  out  to  the  humble  home 
of  the  drunkard's  wife  and  talked  and  prayed,  and  led  the  father  to 
Christ.  He  has  visited  the  gambler  and  the  saloon-keeper,  and 
talked  to  them  in  their  places  of  vice  about  their  soul's  salvation. 

But  it  was  in  the  pulpit  that  he  found  his  throne.  He  possessed 
every  recjuisite  for  a  great  preacher.  He  was  absolutely  original. 
He  could  not  imitate  or  be  imitated.  He  stood  absolutely-alone  as  a 
pulpit  orator.  He  was  characterized  by  moral  earnestness.  jMuch 
of  his  strength  lay  in  his  moral  earnestness.  Xo  man  ever  preached 
v.'ith  more  sincerity  and  earnestness  than  he  did.  His  courage  in  the 
pulpit  was  as  mighty  as  his  earnestness.  Here  is  where  it  mani- 
fested itself  in  the  strongest  way.  His  perfect  naturalness  was  one 
of  the  most  marvelous  elements  in  his  pulpit  v/ork.  He  never  posed, 
he  never  assumed  attitudes,  he  never  scjuared  himself  to  look  well, 
or  thought  about  people  looking  at  him.  He  would  enter  the  pulpit 
the  same  man  that  he  was  in  conversation.  A  professor  in  one  of 
our  leading  theological  seminaries  said :  "The  secret,  perhaps,  in 
Sam  Jones's  preaching  is  that  he  takes  the  Sam  Jones  of  every-day 
life  into  the  pulpit."  Every  intonation  of  his  voice,  every  movement 
of  his  being,  every  thought  of  his  brain  was  as  natural  as  a  rippling, 
gurgling  brooklet. 

Another  requisite  was  his  intellectual  strength.     He  possessed  a 


Sam   p.  Jones.  321 

great  brain.  At  any  moment  that  he  willed,  some  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  powerful  thoughts  would  emanate  from  his  mind.  It 
was  the  power  of  thought  energized  by  the  living  Spirit  that  moved 
and  molded  the  lives  of  his  audience.  His  intellectual  readiness 
along  with  intellectual  strength  was  marvelous.  Daniel  \\^ebster 
had  to  gather  himself  together  hours  and  days  before  he  was  ready 
to  put  out  his  strength,  but  Mr.  Jones  could  command  himself  at  any 
moment,  and  could  utilize  his  brain  power  instantly.  Furthermore, 
he  was  an  intellectual  athlete.  There  wasn't  the  slightest  awkward- 
ness in  his  intellectual  life.  He  had  perfect  command  of  all  his 
faculties.  He  was  the  Napoleon  of  the  pulpit.  He  could  concen- 
trate his  forces  at  any  given  time  on  any  given  thing.  His  sense  of 
prospective  was  marvelous.  Every  epigram,  proverb,  anecdote,  had 
a  purpose.  He  was  an  artist  in  this  respect.  His  preaching  was 
like  painting  a  picture.  He  always  had  in  mind,  results,  and,  in  this 
respect,  he  was  the  Edmund  Burke  of  the  pulpit.  He  was  for  win- 
ning the  verdict.  He  had  marvelous  gifts  of  wit  and  humor  that 
were  windows,  through  which  the  light  passed  to  enliven  his  utter- 
ances. He  knew  man.  His  knowledge  of  human  nature  was 
perfect.  He  could  play  upon  humanity  like  a  skilled  musician,  and 
bring  forth  the  sweetest  strains  from  the  most  dilapidated  instru- 
m.ent.  His  pathos  was  the  flood-gate  through  which  the  tides  of 
emotion  flowed.  He  was  a  proverb-maker,  and  gave  out  his  wisdom 
so  condensed  that  the  simplest  mind  could  understand,  and  the  com- 
mon people  heard  him  gladly,  while  the  aristocracy  listened  and  won- 
dered. He  possessed  the  most  marvelous  voice  that  was  ever  lodged 
in  a  human  throat.  He  could  stand  before  ten,  fifteen  or  twenty 
thousand  people,  and  without  the  least  effort  speak  so  that  every 
word  would  be  distinct.  It  had  a  marvelous  range.  His  voice 
seem^ed  to  be  as  natural  as  that  of  the  sweetest  songster.  It  had 
matchless  cjualities.  If  he  was  in  a  witty  or  humorous  mood,  it 
seemed  to  be  made  specially  for  that.  If  he  was  indulging  in  sar- 
casm, invective,  or  denunciation,  it  seemed  to  be  given  specially  for 
that  purpose.  If  he  was  in  a  tender,  pleading,  pathetic  spirit,  his 
voice  seemed  to  have  been  keyed  in  the  minor.     There  was  no  gift 


322  Sam  P.  Jones. 

in  his  possession  that  was  under  more  complete  control  than  his 
voice. 

His  magnetism  was  so  wonderful  that  when  he  entered  a 
building,  unconsciously,  it  seemed  the  great  audience  took  cog- 
nizance of  his  presence,  and  by  the  time  he  reached  the  platform 
every  eye  was  centered  upon  him,  and  they  saw  and  felt  nothing 
else  but  his  personality  while  he  was  before  them.  He  was 
a  thorough  man.  He  understood  himself,  thoroughly;  he  was  so 
developed  that  there  was  nothing  maimed  about  his  make-up.  He 
preached  to  men  out  of  his  own  heart.  He  knew  himself,  and  made 
his  feelings,  emotions,  fears,  and  hopes  the  basis  for  his  preaching  to 
others.  But  with  all  these  marvelous  gifts,  he  could  never  have  done 
what  he  did  had  it  not  been  for  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that 
God  had  entrusted  to  him  because  of  his  consecration  and  faithful- 
ness. He  could  have  wrought  untold  evil,  had  he  not  been  in  the 
right.  An  intelligent  policeman  who  fought  the  crowds  back  from 
the  doors  of  an  overcrowded  auditorium,  in  one  of  the  largest  cities 
of  the  Southwest,  and  who  got  within  the  doors  and  heard  his  mes- 
sage, and  saw  how  he  had  moved  the  audience,  exclaimed:  "Oh, 
what  evil  that  man  would  do  if  he  turned  his  powers  in  favor  of  the 
wrong.  Had  he  suggested  to  the  eight  thousand  men  to  make  a 
raid  on  the  saloons  in  the  city,  they  would  have  followed  him  to  the 
dives  and  torn  down  the  buildings  in  order  to  carry  out  his  man- 
dates." But  these  marvelous  gifts  were  consecrated  to  God,  and 
account  for  the  wonderful  influence  that  he  exerted  for  right.  He 
was  a  preacher  whose  success  could  not  turn  his  head.  Praise  didn't 
puff  him  up.  There  was  no  compliment  or  censure  that  seemed  to 
have  any  effect  on  him.  He  was  never  intoxicated  or  affected  by  the 
laurels  that  he  won.  He  was  the  same  Sam  Jones  at  the  end  of  his 
enviable  career  that  he  was  when  an  unknown  backwoods  Georgia 
circuit-rider. 

IV. — THE    EVANGELIST. 

Most  of  his  life  was  spent  as  an  evangelist.  He  was  known  every- 
where as  "Sam  Jones,  the  Georgia  Evangelist."  For  twenty-five 
years  or  more  he  was  recognized  as  one  of  America's  greatest  and 


Sam  p.  Jones.  323 

most  noted  evangelists.  The  United  States  in  the  last  century  pro- 
duced just  two  world-wide  evangelists.  One  was  Dwight  L.  Moody, 
of  sturdy  New  England  stock ;  the  other  was  Sam  Jones,  of  South- 
ern blood  and  provincialism.  While  they  were  so  entirely  unlike,  a 
comparison,  if  such  was  desired,  would  be  impossible. 

In  Boston,  where  both  were  engaged  in  great  revival  cam- 
paigns, which  were  separate  and  distinct  from  each  other,  Mr. 
Jones  and  Mr.  Moody  had  a  conversation.  Mr.  Moody  sug- 
gested that  he  would  turn  his  overflow  crowds  to  Mr.  Jones's 
services.  Mr.  Jones  characteristically  remarked,  "I  am  not  in  the 
habit  of  preaching  to  the  overflow  crowds;  the  other  fellow  does 
that  in  the  town  where  I  am."  When  the  test  came  on,  the  coldest 
and  dreariest  day,  Mr.  Jones's  audiences  far  outnumbered  those  of 
Mr.  Moody.  He  would  take  the  opportunity  of  commending  Mr. 
Moody,  whom  he  loved  devotedly,  and  urging  the  people  to  attend 
upon  his  ministry,  and  once  said :  "The  difference  between  Mr. 
Moody  and  myself  is  this :  Mr.  Moody  is  like  Peter,  I  am  like  Sam 
Jones."  In  his  evangelistic  work,  he  had  no  rival.  He  was  the 
originator  and  perpetuator  of  his  peculiar  evangelism.  The  Bible 
makes  a  distinction  between  the  work  of  an  evangelist  and  a  pastor. 
Paul,  who  was  both  a  pastor  and  evangelist,  said :  "He  gave  some 
apostles,  some  prophets,  some  pastors,  some  teachers,  some  evan- 
gelists." In  the  mind  of  this  great  apostle,  there  was  no  conflict 
between  the  work  of  an  evangelist  and  pastor.  Their  work  was 
separate  and  distinct.  Each  had  his  place.  He  further  said  :  "For 
the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  till  we  all 
come  in  the  unity  of  the  faith  and  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Son  of 
God."  Mr.  Jones,  the  evangelist,  grew  out  of  Jones  the  preacher. 
The  gifts  and  graces  of  the  evangelist  were  developed  in  him  while 
a  pastor.  They  became  more  in  evidence  as  his  field  of  labor  in- 
creased and  enlarged,  until  the  bounds  of  his  circuit  were  too  small 
for  him,  and  he  reached  out  in  every  direction  until  the  world  finally 
became  his  parish. 

While  you  may  make  rules  and  regulations  to  confine  such  a  man, 
it  is  impossible  to  hold  him  within  limitation.  There  were  two 
things  that  made  him  the  great  evangelist  that  he  was.     The  first 


324  Sam  P.  Jones. 

was,  his  evangelical  preaching.  He  took  the  Bible  as  his  authority. 
He  preached  it  just  as  he  found  it.  He  had  no  patience  with  higher 
criticism.  No  evangelist  has  any  business  with  such  a  Bible.  \A^ith- 
out  the  utmost  faith  in  the  simple  word  of  God,  he  might  preach 
earnestly  and  eloquently,  but  could  not  produce  conviction.  He  took 
the  Book  just  as  he  found  it. 

A  higher  critic  said  to  him  once :  "Mr.  Jones,  you  don't  believe 
the  Bible  just  as  it  is,  do  you?"  His  reply  was :  "You  fool  you,  of 
course  I  do;  how  could  I  believe  it  as  it  ain't?"  The  great  evan- 
gelical doctrines,  such  as  the  weakness  of  the  human  heart;  the 
work  of  the  good  Spirit  in  convincing  the  mind  and  convicting  the 
will ;  the  grace  of  God  in  helping  the  sinner  to  repent,  and  in  trust- 
ing Jesus  Christ  for  salvation,  and  in  the  power  of  God  to  keep,  and 
the  reward  of  the  faithful,  and  the  punishment  of  the  wicked — these 
were  preached  with  such  earnestness  and  faithfulness  as  has  seldom 
been  heard.  He  did  not  preach  them  in  a  technical  way,  but  in  a 
simple  manner,  as  his  Lord  had  done.  He  picked  up  the  illustra- 
tions and  incidents  of  life,  and  through  them  made  these  great  truths 
so  simple  that  any  one  could  grasp  them ;  in  this  way,  his  preaching 
was  more  like  the  Saviour's  than  any  one  else. 

In  the  second  place  there  must  be  the  evangelistic  spirit.  A  man 
may  be  evangelical  in  his  preaching,  and  yet  if  he  hasn't  the 
evangelistic  spirit,  it  is  out  of  the  question  to  move  men.  No  one 
was  ever  more  deeply  interested  in  the  evangelistic  work  than  Mr. 
Jones.  He  devoted  ever}^  energy  to  this  cause.  In  his  last  years  he 
was  known  to  speak  to  his  most  intimate  friends  and  preachers,  say- 
ing that  he  was  interested  in  who  should  carry  on  this  great  evan- 
gelistic work  when  he  was  gone.  Among  his  last  words  were  ex- 
pressions of  his  deep  solicitude  for  the  coming  evangelism.  AVhile 
his  evangelistic  work  encountered  much  criticism,  from  high  sources, 
he  always  numbered  some  of  the  leading  bishops  and  most  distin- 
guished ministers  as  his  most  earnest  friends  and  ardent  admirers 
and  truest  supporters.  At  one  time  in  his  life  some  of  the  bishops 
had  much  to  say  in  public,  and  through  the  press,  about  evangelists, 
having  him  as  their  target ;  and  while  he  answered  back  from  the 
pulpit  and  through  the  press  making  things  rather  lively,  he  always 


Sam  p.  Jones.  325- 

held  these  men  in  highest  esteem,  and  after  some  of  them  passed 
away  he  was  among  the  first  to  aid  with  his  influence  and  money 
to  erect  lasting  and  abiding  monuments  to  their  memory  and  work. 

V. — the;  lkcturkr. 

As  a  lecturer-orator,  Mr.  Jones  stood  at  the  head  of  the  list.  Af- 
ter his  great  meeting  in  Memphis,  he  was  called  back  to  the  city  to 
deliver  a  lecture.  His  subject  was  "Character  and  Characters." 
He  began  by  saying:  "This  is  the  largest  audience  I  have  ever 
lectured  to,  and  the  most  intelligent,"  and  then  let  them  down  gently 
by  assuring  them  that  it  was  his  first  attempt  on  the  lecture  plat- 
form. Occasionally,  between  his  meetings,  he  would  lecture  for  the 
churches,  and  other  worthy  causes  in  Georgia,  and  adjoining  States. 
Frequently,  there  was  no  charge  made  for  his  services  above  his 
expenses.  But  as  his  fame  spread,  he  was  besieged  by  the  bureaus 
and  committees  for  lecture  dates.  A  great  many  of  these  were 
turned  down  for  a  number  of  years.  His  correspondence  asking 
for  lectures  was  immense.  A  close  friend  who  sat  by  him  one  morn- 
ing, while  looking  through  a  pile  of  mail,  said :  "There  sat  Mr.- 
Jones,  his  mobile  face  showing  the  contents  of  each  letter  before  he 
spoke,  dictating  in  the  fewest  words  the  most  kindly  reply,  and  in 
better  English  than  he  has  ever  talked.  I  was  reminded  of  what  a 
famous  man  said  to  another,  'See  here,  do  you  know  you  are  talking 
first-class  prose  worth  fifty  dollars  an  hour  ?'  On  he  went  dictating, 
removing  letters  from  the  big  valise  in  the  corner,  which  held  at 
least  eight  hundred  unanswered  letters,  to  a  great  man  like  T.  De- 
Witt  Talmage,  and  then  to  a  reformed  drunkard,  and  then  to  a  bro- 
ken-hearted wife,  and  then  he  began  to  answer  the  calls  to  lecture 
offering  one  hundred  to  five  hundred  dollars  a  night.  He  said,  'No,' 
kindly,  with  the  emphasis,  'we  preach.'  " 

During  the  years  of  his  ill  health  he  lectured  constantly  and  his 
summer  months  were  spent  at  the  great  chautauquas.  The  lecture 
platform  afforded  him  great  opportunities  for  doing  good.  He  was 
one  of  those  men  who  could  pick  up  his  audience  at  first  appearance 
and  mould  it  with  his  thought.  He  never  lectured  without  lifting 
some  one  to  a  holier  and  better  life.    The  chautauqua  platform  was 


326  Sam  P.  Jones. 

his  throne  as  a  lecturer.  After  his  great  meeting  in  Cincinnati, 
twenty-one  years  ago,  Bishop  Vincent  came  down  to  Cincinnati  and 
interviewed  him  regarding  a  lecture  at  Lake  Chautauqua,  New 
York.  From  that  time  year  after  year  he  had  visited  the  great 
chautauquas  throughout  the  West,  Southwest  and  North.  He  ap- 
peared at  the  largest  and  best  of  them,  and  the  oftener  he  appeared, 
the  larger  the  attendance  and  more  delighted  were  the  people.  He 
had  visited  some  of  them  year  after  year  for  the  last  twenty  years. 
For  next  season  plans  had  been  made  for  anniversary  days  in  his 
honor.  He  was  the  celebrity  at  the  chautauquas.  The  good  that 
he  accomplished  at  these  summer  gatherings  will  never  be  known 
in  this  life.     One  instance  out  of  hundreds  is  given. 

Riding  out  of  Chicago,  a  summer  or  two  ago,  he  was  met  at  his 
destination  by  a  young  man  in  an  automobile.  As  soon  as  Mr. 
Jones  alighted  from  the  train,  the  young  man  walked  up,  shook 
hands  with  him,  and  said :  "I  want  the  honor  of  driving  you  around 
to  the  hotel;  when  you  were  here  last  year,  I  was  a  miserable  sot, 
but  I  haven't  touched  a  drop  of  liquor  since  I  heard  you  lecture." 
Such  results  followed  his  lectures  wherever  he  went.  It  was  on  the 
lecture  platform  that  he  gave  the  freest  vent  to  his  emotions — such 
as  wit,  humor,  and  pathos.  To  hear  him  lecture  at  one  of 
these  great  chautauqua  gatherings  was  like  going  to  see  a  great 
geyser  play.  He  never  studied,  in  a  scholarly  sense,  his  lecture,  but 
would  simply  stand  there  in  the  presence  of  thousands  and  let  nature 
play,  and  the  truth  bear  upon  the  subject  as  he  saw  it  rush  from  his 
soul  in  warm,  liquid  speech.  While  he  sometimes  emitted  some  mud, 
it  never  soiled  any  one.  On  these  occasions  he  was  at  times  as  fear- 
less and  as  oblivious  to  the  opinions  of  his  auditors  as  a  cyclone  is  of 
the  forest  that  it  sweeps  over.  He  had  his  own  way,  said  his  own 
say.  but  carried  the  crowd  with  him,  who  demanded  that  he  should 
come  again  the  next  season.  Before  he  closed  his  lecture  he  would 
usually  stir  up  the  emotion  of  his  people  with  some  beautiful  and 
touching  story  that  had  come  under  his  observation.  At  such  a  mo- 
ment, he  seemed  in  touch  with  some  heavenly  music  which  was  forc- 
ing; him  to  keep  in  tune  with  same.     The  great  audiences  forgot 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  327 

themselves,  and  seemed  to  be  far  away  listening  to  the  heavenly 
melodies. 

Last  summer  at  the  Miami  Valley  Chautauqua,  where  he  had 
graced  the  rostrum  for  ten  consecutive  years,  and  had,  if  possible, 
the  largest  audience  ever  before,  the  contract  for  his  presence  the 
next  year  was  signed  before  he  left.  In  his  closing  remarks  there 
he  said  that  he  had  something  like  a  presentiment  that  he  would 
never  speak  from  that  platform  again.  Said  he :  "I  am  in  excellent 
health,  but  such  is  my  presentiment  now ;  so,  if  I  never  address  you 
again,  good-by." 

There  was  always  a  sustained  interest  at  his  lectures.  People 
never  wearied  or  went  to  sleep.  Dr.  A.  C.  Dixon,  one  Monday 
morning,  met  Mr.  Jones  on  Broadway,  New  York,  and  said  to  him : 
''I  see  from  this  morning's  Sun  that  you  so  shocked  the  audience 
at  Prohibition  Park  yesterday  that  the  modest  women  got  up  and 
left  the  house."  Mr.  Jones  quietly  asked:  "Did  the  Sun  say  that 
anybody  went  to  sleep  ?"  "No,"  he  replied.  "Well,  Bud,"  he  said, 
"you  keep  on  reading  the  Stin^  and  when  it  says  that  anybody  went 
to  sleep  while  I  was  talking,  you  let  me  know." 

VI. — The;  reformer. 

As  a  reformer  and  prohibitionist,  Mr.  Jones  was  given  a  promi- 
nent place  in  the  history  of  good  government  and  morals.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  preachers  that  opened  his  mouth  in  the  Southland 
against  the  liquor  traffic.  Everywhere  he  went,  his  strongest  at- 
tacks were  against  it.  The  greatest  reformations  in  municipal  and 
individual  life  followed.  Saloons  were  voted  out  of  the  towns,  or 
suppressed,  wherever  he  went,  and  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  the 
towns  have  been  without  open  saloons.  The  reformations  and  con- 
versions of  gamblers  were  counted  by  the  score — sometimes  a  hun- 
dred in  his  great  meetings. 

While  in  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  one  of  the  most  noted  gamblers  of  the 
West  was  reformed.    We  furnish  an  account  of  this  reformation  : 

"The  whole  gambling  fraternity  of  the  Southwest  will  read  with 
wonder  that  one  of  their  number  has  thrown  down  his  cards  and  dice 
and  bade  an  eternal  farewell  to  the  green  cloth,  with  all  its  blandisli- 


•t328  Sam  P.  Jones. 

ments  and  allurements.     From  Oklahoma  to  New  Orleans,  from 
Memphis  to  El  Paso,  from  St.  Louis  to  Galveston,  no  gambler's 
name  is  more  generally  known  than  that  of  E.  E.  Crutchfield.     Ever 
since  he  was  a  boy  he  has  been  experienced  at  cards  and  dice.     He 
has  won  and  lost  enough  money  to  buy  the  Iron  Mountain  Railroad, 
with  all  its  appurtenances  and  belongings.     He  has  won  thousands 
of  dollars  in  a  single  night  here  in  Little  Rock,  where  he  is  well 
knov.'n  and  universally  a  favorite  among  the  fraternity.    He  has  fol- 
lowed the  vocation  of  gambling  in  different  cities  of  the  great  South- 
west and  in  all  the  larger  cities  of  this  section.     He  went  to  the  first 
meeting  held  here  by  Rev.  Sam  Jones,  and  never  missed  a  solitary 
service,  until  last  Wednesday  night  he  became  more  and  more  in- 
terested and  threw  himself  at  the  Savior's  feet,  and  the  kind  Savior 
took  him  up  and  blessed  him,  and  wrote  out  a  pardon  for  all  his  sins 
and  sent  him  forth  rejoicing  in  a  Savior's  love.    He  arose,  and  gave 
Mr.  Jones  his  hand,  and  made  a  manly  confession  of  his  life.     He 
said :   'This  is  the  last  deal  forever,  boys,  for  I  have  given  my  heart 
to  God,  and  shall  join  the  church  at  once.'     He  left  for  his  home  at 
Jennings  Falls,  where  he  owns  a  beautiful  farm,  to  convey  to  his 
wife  and  children  the  glad  news  of  his  conversion  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

One  of  the  best  examples  of  a  reformed  drunkard  happened  while 
making  a  prohibition  speech  in  Robertson  county,  Tennessee.  This 
was  one  of  the  many  remarkable  instances  of  reformed  lives.  Mr. 
Jones  spoke  of  it  in  the  following  way :  "I  was  making  a  prohibition 
speech  in  Robertson  county,  Tennessee,  and  noticed  on  the  right  of 
the  platform  a  blear-eyed,  bloated  fellow  who  was  about  three  parts 
drunk.  Each  part  a  third.  As  I  talked  he  would  screw  his  fist  into 
his  eyes  and  wipe  away  the  tears.  After  the  speaking  I  w^ent  to  a 
friend's  house,  perfectly  exhausted,  and  lay  down.  The  lady  of  the 
liouse  called  at  the  door  in  a  few  minutes,  saying  that  a  man  wantefl 
to  see  me. 

"  'Tell  him  I  am  tired,'  I  said,  'and  please  excuse  me.' 
"  'That  is  all  right,  anyhow,'  she  said,  'because  he  is  a  drunken. 
Tagged  vagabond.' 

"I  said:    'If  he  is  that'sort  of  a  fellow,  let  him  in.     I  used  to  be- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  329* 

long  to  that  gang  myself,  and  I  never  go  back  on  them.'  The  man 
came  in,  and  I  found  he  was  the  drunken  fellow  who  had  listened 
to  me  speak. 

"He  said :  'Mr.  Jones,  I  don't  want  any  money..  Money  can  do 
me  no  good.  I  am  a  ruined  man.  Drink  has  made  me  a  wreck.  A 
short  time  ago,  I  had  a  happy  home  and  household.  A  few  weeks 
ago  I  buried  my  wife,  having  crushed  every  drop  of  blood  out  of 
her  heart  before  she  died.  My  two  boys  are  at  the  Orphans'  Home 
in  Nashville.  One  of  them  is  a  little  blind  fellow.  My  two  girls 
are  in  Murfreesboro,  and  this  (here  he  pulled  a  little  black  cap  out 
of  his  pocket)  is  the  last  thing  that  is  left  to  remind  me  that  I  ever 
had  a  household.  It  is  my  little  blind  boy's  cap.  Now,  I  don't  want 
any  money  from  you,  but  I  just  got  an  idea  from  the  way  you  talked 
that  maybe  you  had  some  sympathy  for  me.'  If  you  have,  pray  for 
me.    Good-by.'    And  he  started  off. 

"  'Hold  on  here,'  said  I,  and  I  called  up  Mr.  Taylor,  my  secretary, 
and  said :  'Frank,  go  up  town  with  this  man  and  wash  him  all  over 
with  soap  and  put  a  new  suit  of  clothes  on  him  from  head  to  foot 
and  bring  him  back.'  In  an  hour  or  two  he  came  back,  and  I  did 
not  know  him.  I  had  to  be  introduced  to  him  over.  I  took  out  one 
dollar  and  handed  it  to  him,  and  said :  'Railroad  fare  in  this  State 
is  three  cents  a  mile.  Here  is  one  dollar.  Now,  you  get  on  a  train 
and  ride  thirty-three  miles,  no  matter  in  what  direction,  and  get  the 
conductor  to  put  you  off  in  the  woods  when  you  are  thirty-three 
miles  out,  and  then  you  strike  out  through  the  woods  for  a  new  life.'' 

"The  fellow  did  exactly  as  I  told  him.  I  got  a  letter  from  him  the 
other  day,  and  he  said  that  he  got  into  the  woods  and  struck  for 
a  new  life.  He  got  a  school,  sent  for  his  children,  rented  him  a  home 
and  was  doing  well. 

"A  few  weeks  afterward  a  first-class  tailor  took  me  into  his  store 
and  gave  me  a  seventy-five-dollar  suit.  I  spent  about  thirty  dollars 
on  that  poor  drunkard,  and  made  forty-five  dollars  clear.  Why 
don't  some  of  you  fellows  speculate  that  way?" 

If  greatness  is  measured  by  the  service  a  reformer  does,  Mr.  Jones 
deserves  the  appellation  "great  reformer."  In  scores  of  communi- 
ties throughout  the  land,  under  the  spell  of  his  preaching,  the  civic 


330  Sam  P.  Jones. 

conscience  has  been  quickened,  and  the  social  and  political  reforms 
have  been  permanent  and  far-reaching  in  their  results.  Mothers' 
hearts  breaking  over  their  erring,  wayward  sons  have  had  their 
mourning  turned  into  joy.  Lonely  wives  creeping  through  the 
watches  of  the  night  have  been  enabled  to  put  on  the  garment  of 
praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness.  Discouraged  and  despairing  men 
have  had  their  vision  enlarged,  and  their  faith  strengthened.  For 
a  score  and  a  half  of  years,  wherever  Mr.  Jones  has  gone,  his  serv- 
ices have  brought  about  such  results.  As  a  reformer  he  had  the 
boldness  of  a  Hebrew  prophet.  He  had  the  spirit  of  a  Savanarola. 
He  possessed  the  courage  of  a  Martin  Luther.  He  had  the  elo- 
quence of  a  Whitfield,  and  the  earnestness  of  Moody.  He  had  the 
passion  of  John  Knox.  Like  John  the  Baptist,  the  axe  was  laid  at 
the  root  of  the  tree.  His  message  was  a  vital  and  fundamental  one 
for  all  classes,  but  in  a  peculiar  sense,  for  those  lives  who  needed 
reformation. 

VII. — THE  AUTHOR. 

Mr.  Jones  had  no  mean  reputation  as  a  writer  and  an  author. 
While  his  arduous  evangelistic  work  demanded  much  of  his  strength 
and  time,  he  took  occasion  to  contribute  articles  to  the  secular  press 
and  religious  papers.  He  often  felt  that  it  was  his  duty,  and  he  de- 
sired to  devote  more  time  to  literary  work.  There  are  half  a  dozen 
or  more  volumes  of  his  sermons  that  have  been  printed.  Any  one 
who  has  read  his  sermons  can  see  the  unique  position  that  he  filled 
as  a  writer.  For  years  he  was  contributor  to  the  Atlanta  Journal, 
and  the  articles  covered  nearly  ever}'  important  issue  of  the  day. 
Some  of  his  most  thoughtful  and  prophetic  utterances  are  to  be 
found  in  those  weekly  letters.  A  number  of  prominent  lawyers  have 
said  that  they  have  not  missed  reading  one  of  those  articles  since 
they  began.  Other  prominent  citizens  have  spoken  of  the  deep  inter- 
est they  took  in  the  paper,  because  of  his  contributions.  During  his 
life  he  was  associated  in  the  editorial  work  of  one  or  two  religious 
papers.  His  writings  in  those  papers  were  as  unique  as  his  preach- 
ing. People  were  always  eager  to  get  anything  that  came  from  his 
pen.    The  royalty  on  his  books  ran  up  into  the  thousands  of  dollars 


Sam   p.  JonKS.  o31 

the  first  few  years;  however,  he  didn't  pay  much  attention  to  the 
pubHcations,  and  a  great  deal  of  the  money  never  reached  his  hands. 
All  sorts  of  publishers  got  out  books  purporting  to  be  from  him. 
The  authorized  publishers  of  these  books  were  the  M.  E.  Publishing 
House,  South,  Nashville;  the  Western  Book  Concern,  Cincinnati; 
and  the  Canadian  Book  House,  Toronto.  A  later  book  was  pub- 
lished by  a  Subscription  Book  Concern  in  Nashville. 

VIII. THE  PHII.ANTHROPIST. 

Thousands  of  dollars  that  came  to  him  as  royalty  was  used  in 
philanthropic  work.  As  a  philanthropist,  Mr.  Jones  deserves  con- 
sideration. While  his  gifts  were  not  in  large  sums,  to  a  few  insti- 
tutions, he  contributed  liberally  and  generously  to  worthy  enter- 
prises, wherever  he  came  in  contact  with  them.  He  was  always  the 
most  liberal  contributor  in  erecting  great  tabernacles  and  auditori- 
ums in  the  cities  where  he  repeatedly  held  meetings.  He  gave  lib- 
erally to  the  schools  and  colleges  where  poor  boys  and  girls  were 
being  educated.  He  was  instrumental  in  starting  a  female  college 
in  his  towm,  which  was  afterwards  converted  into  a  public  school 
building.  He  took  special  delight  in  helping  orphans'  homes  and 
such  worthy  institutions.  He  came  to  the  rescue  and  helped  indi- 
viduals who  were  threatened  with  financial  embarrassment.  He 
helped  the  struggling  colored  people  in  his  own  town  and  in  many 
places  where  he  gave  them  special  services.  He  was  a  liberal  con- 
tributor to  municipal  reform  movements,  and  to  the  missionary 
cause.  The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  appealed  to  him 
very  earnestly,  and  in  many  places  he  inaugurated  movements  and 
raised  the  money  to  build  Y.  M.  C.  A.  halls.  In  a  number  of  the 
leaidng  cities  where  he  worked,  these  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciations are  a  monument  to  his  generosity  and  efforts.  A  great 
many  families  were  educated  by  him,  and  there  are  ministers  in  the 
Southland  filling  prominent  pulpits  to-day  who  love  and  honor  him 
for  the  support  that  he  gave  their  widowed  mothers,  while  they  were 
struggling  through  college.  Perhaps,  for  twenty-five  years,  or 
more,  he  made  on  an  average  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  a  year,  but 
much  of  it  was  given  away,  where  in  his  wisdom  he  thought  best. 


S32  Sam  P.  Jones. 

In  speaking  to  a  friend  last  summer,  he  said :  "The  nearest  I  can 
estimate,  I  have  made  over  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars 
with  my  tongue."  He  was  a  generous  and  liberal  contributor  to 
■every  worthy  cause. 


MR     JONES'    LAST  PICTURE. 
Taken  in  Apiil,  1906. 


,-'/ 


MRS.  SAM  P.  JONES 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 


A  Summary. 
The  Fiftieth  Anniversary. 

"CartersvielE,  Ga.,  October  i6,  1897. 
""To  the  Atlanta  Journal: 

"You  have  requ-ested  me  to  give  you  something  apropos  to  this, 
my  fiftieth  anniversary  jubilee.  I  have  written  upon  almost  all 
•conceivable  subjects  except  scientific  subjects,  and  unless  I  was  a 
scientist  to  the  manor  born  and  educated  to  the  clan,  I  know  I  shall 
not  be  able  to  say  just  what  ought  to  be  said,  and  leave  unsaid  just 
what  ought  not  to  be  said. 

"I  tell  you  it  is  no  small  thing  to  be  fifty  years  old.  The  world  is 
not  much  interested  in  babyhood,  though  the  child  is  father  to  the 
man ;  and  then  the  world  is  not  much  interested  in  young  manhood, 
though  character  reaches  from  the  cradle  to  the  cofiin.  There  is  not 
a  day  in  human  life  but  that  character  is  being  builded,  associations 
being  fixed  and  destinies  being  settled. 

"I  was  bora  of  religious  parents,  taught  in  the  ways  of  virtue  and 
manhood,  and  escaped  the  evil  that  curses  so  many  human  lives  up 
to  the  beginning  of  the  war  between  the  States.  J\Iy  father  joining 
.the  ranks  of  the  Southern  Confederacy,  I  joined  the  ranks  of  the 
devil.  How  I  pity  a  boy  of  the  tender  age  of  fourteen  years  in  times 
like  those  I  I  believe  the  war  wrecked  more  young  men  than  it  killed 
old  men.  From  that  period  of  age  between  fourteen  and  twenty- 
four  I  learned  the  lesson  that  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard. 
But  marvelous  facts  in  a  human  life,  I  have  been  from  the  age  of 
twenty-four  to  the  age  of  fifty  as  honest  and  faithful  a  champion  for 
manhood,  truth  and  vitrue,  integrity,  honor  and  right  as  I  ever 
missed  the  mark  along  that  line  in  former  years.    It  was  not  only  a 

(333) 


334  Sam  P.  Jones. 

revolution  in  my  life,  but  regeneration  in  my  soul  that  transformed 
me  from  the  practice  of  wrong  to  the  championship  of  right. 

"In  1872  I  began  my  ministerial  life  as  pastor.  From  the  first  I 
wanted  to  get  the  juice  out  of  a  text.  How  will  I  get  the  juice  out 
of  my  text?  was  the  supreme  question.  And  the  juice  is  all  I  ever 
wanted  out  of  the  text.  Others  may  deal  in  bones  and  hoofs  and 
horns,  and  that  which  is  dry  and  tasteless,  but  I  always  wanted  the 
juice,  and  always  wanted  to  give  juice  to  others.  I  never  attended  a 
theological  'cemetery.'  Till  this  blessed  day  I  know  nothing  of  sys- 
tematic theology  as  a  science.  I  never  studied  'hermalettics,'  or 
'exegetics'  or  'polxemics.'  I  never  studied  nor  taught  oratory  or 
rhetoric.  I  have  always  believed  that  there  were  three  essentials  to 
an  effective  speakr  :  First,  clearness ;  second,  concentration ;  tliirdly, 
directness.  The  average  speaker  can  not  be  clear  unless  he  bathes 
the  subject  in  a  flood  of  light  by  illustration.  Let  an  audience  see 
what  you  are  talking  about.  Second,  concentration.  Put  a  whole 
lead  mine  into  one  bullet.  Then,  thirdly,  directness ;  aim  where  you 
want  to  hit  and  something  will  be  lying  dead  around  in  that  neck  of 
the  woods. 

"I  have  made  the  Word  of  God  the  limit  and  boundary  line  of 
truth.  I  have  considered  myself  free  to  think  within  that  boundary 
line.  I  have  never  been  hampered  by  rule  or  schools.  God's  Word 
has  been  the  circle  and  God  himself  the  orbit  aromid  which  my  mind 
has  moved.  I  have  been  called  a  crank,  mountebank,  clown,  fanatic 
and  fool ;  and  I  have  gathered  all  these  titles  up  and  am  willing  to 
wear  them  with  honors  and  cast  them  down  at  my  Saviour's  feet 
at  last,  emblems  of  my  loyalty  to  Him  and  my  fidelity  to  my  convic- 
tions. Men  have  criticized  me  everywhere.  If  I  had  preached  as  the 
schools  teach  and  systematic  theology  directs,  and  logic  and  gram- 
mar demand,  I  would  have  been  criticized  as  little  as  other  men,. 
preached  to  as  few  people  as  other  men,  and  moved  in  as  small  cir- 
cles as  other  men.  A  thousand  times  I  have  preferred  mental  train- 
ing to  mental  culture.  The  preacher  who  reads  and  studies  all  the 
week  and  stands  on  the  Sabbath  day  and  vomits  intellectually  that 
which  he  has  taken  in  during  the  week,  may  please  the  fancy, 
but  will  never  move  the  conscience  of  an  audience.    It  is  in  the  men- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  335 

tal  world  as  it  is  in  the  world  of  physics.  A  man  who  has  studied 
forestr}^  until  he  knows  all  the  trees,  and  all  about  trees  and  writes 
fluently  on  their  nature  and  quality  don't  amount  to  much  in  the 
-practical  world.  The  mineralogist  who  knows  the  weights  and 
names  and  kinds  of  ores  and  writes  fluently  upon  that  subject,  may 
have  his  place  in  the  world.  But  the  man  who  sees  an  axe  handle  in 
a  tree,  and  an  axe  in  an  ore  bank,  has  the  genius  to  put  the  two  to- 
gether and  thus  furnish  an  implement  that  every  farmer  needs,  he  it 
is  the  world  applauds.  So  in  the  world,  the  man  who  gathers  the 
nuggests  of  thought  here  and  yonder  and  puts  them  together  until 
he  has  an  idea  that  moves  consciences,  builds  character  and  fixes 
destiny,  he  it  is  in  the  mental  world  that  is  doing  good,  and  not  the 
mental  glutton  who  feeds  and  fills  his  mind  simply  to  vomit  it  back, 
because  he  has  not  the  power  of  assimilation,'  The  mental  training 
that  harnesses  every  faculty  of  the  mind,  perception,  conception, 
memory,  judgment,  reason  and  imagination,  and  drives  them  like  so 
many  horses  in  a  team,  tapping  the  one  that  drags  back,  is  the  kind 
we  need.  I  would  no  more  carry  a  manuscript  in  the  pulpit  to  help 
my  memory  than  I  would  carry  a  bundle  of  fodder  to  urge  along  a 
lazy  horse  in  my  team.  Do  the  faculties  of  the  mind  like  the  team- 
ster does  a  lazy  horse,  lambast  them,  and  if  memory  or  perception  or 
imagination  does  not  come  to  time,  pound  the  life  out  of  them  and 
make  them  come  to  time. 

"This  is  the  way  a  man  fifty  years  old  feels  and  thinks.  I  was  once 
much  wiser  than  I  am  to-day.  When  I  was  twenty-one  years  old  I 
looked  upon  Daniel  Webster  as  an  idiot,  and  if  Solomon  had  come. 
around  I  would  have  sent  him  forthwith  to  the  asylum.  But  I  am 
now  at  that  period  of  life  when  I  am  only  able  to  see  what  a  fool  I 
was  then.    This  much  on  that  line. 

"This  anniversary  is  a  unique  one  to  me.  It  is  the  first  jubilee 
anniversary  I  have  ever  had.  What  a  royal  time  it  is  to  have  fifty 
friends  and  brethren  to  sit  at  the  table  in  my  own  home — men  from 
perhaps  twenty  different  States,  men  whom  I  honor,  and  men  who 
have  honored  me  with  their  presence  at  my  home.  It's  an  honor  to 
any  man  w^hen  fifty  busy  business  men  will  quit  their  homes  and  busi- 
ness and  come  afar  to  be  present  on  an  occasion  like  this.     It  is  an 


336  Sam  P.  Jones. 

honor  I  do  not  deserve  and  an  honor  which  I  profoundly  acknowl- 
edge. Wife  is  the  author  of  this  unique  program  for  the  jubilee. 
When  she  first  suggested  it  I  thought  she  would  perchance  invite  the 
friends  from  a  distance,  they  would  send  their  excuses  and  we  would 
have  simply  a  jubilee  with  our  home  friends  at  Carters ville,  Ga. 
But  such  the  friends  willed  should  not  be,  and  we  had  a  jubilee  an- 
niversar}^  with  forty-nine  friends  sitting  at  our  table  at  dinner,  and 
all  our  Cartersville  and  vicinity  friends  gathered  with  us  in  the 
evening  at  an  informal  reception.  The  very  thought  of  it  makes  me 
think  more  of  my  wife's  husband  and  my  children's  father.  I 
tell  you,  a  swallow-tail  coat,  plug  hat,  tooth-pick  shoes  and  red  cra- 
vat lit  into  this  occasion  better  perhaps  than  any  occasion  of  my  life.- 
Who  wouldn't  don  all  these  things  on  an  occasion  like  this?  As  I 
have  said  before  at  my  silver  wedding,  when  I  donned  this  full- 
dress  attire  and  my  friends  laughed  at  me  in  my  swallow-tail  coat,  I 
told  them  I  never  had  one  before,  and  they  could  see  that  I  had  it  on 
mostly  behind. 

"I  notice  my  wife  showing  me  a  little  more  honor  than  usual  and. 
my  children  tip  their  hats  and  bow  more  reverently  to  the  patriarch, 
and  pater  familias.  My  horse  seems  to  move  with  a  quicker  step- 
and  the  servants  on  the  place  eye  me  as  I  pass  by  and  then  look  at 
each  other  as  much  as  to  say:  'He  don't  look  like  it's  in  him,  but; 
sho'  he  is  a  big  man  in  his  way.' 

"After  the  trials  and  hardships  of  twenty  years'  constant  labor  this 
forms  an  oasis,  pleasant  occasion  that  makes  me  feel  grateful  to  God 
and  love  my  fellow  man  more.  To  the  friends  here  and  yonder  who' 
do  not  participate  personally  in  this  occasion,  I  send  words  of  greet- 
ing and  cheer,  and  above  all  things  say  to  them  that  the  richest  re- 
ward God  has  given  me  on  earth  is  the  faithful  men  and  women  of 
America,  who  have,  through  criticisms  and  sometimes  misrepresenta- 
tions, ever  been  faithful  in  their  prayers  and  good  will  towards  me. 
I  have  not  lived  in  vain,  thank  God,  and  while  life  shall  last  with  me 
I  shall  count  myself  happy  for  the  honors  done  me  on  this  our  jubilee; 
occasion. 

"Sam  p.  Jones." 


Sam  p.  Jones.  337 

Just  a  year  before  the  day  Mr.  Jones's  body  lay  in  state  at  the 
Capitol  of  Georgia,  President  Roosevelt  was  in  Atlanta,  and  learn- 
ing that  Mr.  Jones  was  in  the  audience,  asked  to  be  presented  to  him. 
Mr.  Jones  was  conducted  to  the  platform,  and  was  introduced  to 
the  President  in  the  presence  of  fifty  thousand  people  at  Pied- 
mont Park.  Upon  meeting  Mr.  Jones,  Mr.  Roosevelt  expressed 
great  pleasure,  and  said :  "Mr.  Jones,  you,  in  your  way,  are  doing 
for  this  country  and  the  people  what  I  am  trying  to  accomplish  in 
mine,  I  heartily  endorse  your  good  work,  and  hope  that  success 
will  continue  to  crown  your  efforts.  The  next  time  you  visit  Wash- 
ington I  want  you  to  telegraph  me  in  advance,  and  I  want  you  to 
be  my  guest  during  your  stay  in  the  Capitol  City."  -^ 

After  Mr,  Jones  acknowledged  the  introduction,  the  President 
asked  for  Mrs.  Jones,  saying  he  would  like  to  meet  her.  Mrs. 
Jones  came  forward,  and  was  introduced  to  the  chief  magistrate. 
As  Mrs.  Jones  shook  hands  with  him,  she  said :  "President  Roose- 
velt, I  am  glad  to  meet  you,  and  I  think  you  are  the  second  greatest 
man  in  America.  There  is  the  greatest,"  she  said,  pointing  to  her 
husband,  as  he  stood  with  his  arm  linked  in  the  President's.  The 
President  good-naturedly  replied,  "Ah,  you  don't  think  Sam's 
great." 

After  his  death,  Rev.  Russell  H.  Conwell,  LL.D.,  president  of 
Temple  College,  and  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Temple,  Philadelphia, 
wrote : 

"Rev.  Sam  Jones  always  reminded  me  of  a  great  cedar  tree  stand- 
ing on  the  side  of  Monte  Viso,  on  the  northern  boundary  of  Italy. 
It  had  been  broken  down  by  an  avalanche  when  it  was  small,  but 
had  recovered  itself,  assuming  in  its  growth  very  curious  shape  and 
immense  strength.  It  is  now  so  large  that  it  holds  back  the  ava- 
lanche which  used  to  scour  the  side  of  the  mountain  and  make  trav- 
eling very  dangerous  below." 

The  late  lamented  Bishop  Beckwith,  of  the  Episcopal  diocese  of 
Georgia,  and  one  of  the  most  eloquent  pulpit  orators  this  country 
has  ever  produced,  was  never  a  man  of  extravagant  speech  or  sen- 
sational ideas  in  public  utterance  or  private  talk.  Praise  from  him 
was  praise  indeed.    Bishop  Beckwith  said : 

12  j 


338  Sam  P.  Jones. 

"Sam  Jones  has  done  more  good  in  Georgia  than  any  man  I 
know.  I  would  be  happy  if  I  could  go  into  the  presence  of  my 
Maker  with  Sam  Jones's  record." 

These  three  testimonials,  one  from  the  President  of  the  nation, 
another  from  one  of  the  most  distinguished  ministers  of  the  United 
States,  who  says  that  he  got  his  inspiration  from  Mr.  Jones,  and 
the  other  from  a  distinguished  churchman  and  bishop,  with  a  thou- 
sand more  which  might  be  given  in  summing  up  the  influence  and 
work  of  his  life,  but  we  prefer  to  let  Mr.  Jones's  own  words  close 
the  chapters,  covering  his  work  as  a  preacher,  evangelist,  and 
lecturer : 

"Like  Saul  of  Tarsus,  I  was  turned  right  about,  and  now  for 
thirty-four  years,  I  have  been  obedient  to  the  heavenly  call.  I  spent 
eight  years  of  my  life  as  a  pastor  upon  different  circuits  in  the 
North  Georgia  Conference.  Then  I  took  the  agency  of  the  Or- 
phans' Home,  and  fed  and  clothed  and  cared  for  the  orphan  chil- 
dren during  my  evangelistic  work  for  more  than  twelve  years.  I 
have  been  out  of  the  pastorate  for  seventeen  years,  and  my  life  has 
been  given  almost  wholly  to  evangelistic  work,  covering  almost 
every  State  in  the  Union  and  most  of  the  principal  cities  and  towns. 
I  do  not  affirm  with  absolute  correctness,  but  I  estimate  that  I  have 
seen  five  hundred  thousand  people  turned  from  the  error  of  their 
ways  into  a  better  life  under  my  ministry.  I  have  preached,  perhaps, 
to  more  than  a  million  of  people  a  year  for  the  past  twenty-five 
years.  I  have  known  as  many  as  twenty-seven  hundred  people  to 
join  the  churches  in  a  series  of  meetings,  and  frequently  as  many 
as  a  thousand.  I  have  been  but  an  humble  instrument  in  the  hands 
of  God  in  this  work.  His  has  been  the  power,  so  to  Him  shall  be 
the  glory.  Reckoning  outside  of  the  grace  and  power  of  God,  I  do 
not  understand  my  own  work.  But  God  tells  us  that  with  Him  all 
things  are  possible,  and  that  he  has  chosen  the  weak  things  of  this 
world  to  confound  the  wise,  and  that  this  treasure  is  in  earthen 
vessels  that  the  excellency  of  the  power  may  be  of  God  and  not  of 
man. 

"While  my  life  has  been  one  of  continued  toil,  carrying  me  away 
from  home  perhaps  eleven  months  in  each  year  for  more  than  twen- 


Sam  p.  Jones.  339 

ty-five  years,  yet  looking"  back  over  these  years,  I  can  but  say  if  I 
had  a  thousand  lives  I'd  consecrate  them  all  to  this  work,  for  the 
highest  post  of  honor  and  the  grandest  work  mortal  man  can  do  is 
to  be  in  a  position  where  God  will  help  him,  and  then  do  faithfully 
the  work  God  would  have  him  do.  Profoundly  convinced  from  the 
start  till  now  that  the  grace  of  God  had  wrought  a  mighty  change 
in  my  own  heart  and  life,  and  with  an  ever-growing  faith  in  the 
power  of  Christ  to  save  all  men,  I  have  gone  unflinchingly  on  with 
my  work  proclaiming  what  I  believed  to  be  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus 
Christ.  I  have  been  criticised  much — sometimes  justly,  but  always 
criticised.  It  is  part  of  the  penalty  awarded  to  success,  and  as  I 
have  frequently  said,  the  train  that  raises  no  dust,  makes  no  noise 
and  kills  no  stock  must  have  run  very  slow  or  been  side-tracked 
along  the  way. 

"Amid  it  all  I  have  borne  nothing  but  the  kindly  spirit  toward  all 
mankind.  I  have  never  stickled  for  creeds,  nor  been  an  expounder 
of  dogma.  I  have  simply  championed  that  which  I  knew  was  right 
and  denounced  that  which  I  knew  was  wrong.  In  this  work  God  has 
given  me  a  thousand  friends  for  every  enemy  that  I  have  found  and 
a  freedom  of  liberty  which  few  men  have  enjoyed.  In  all  these  years 
I  have  gone  where  I  pleased,  staid  as  long  as  I  pleased,  said  what  I 
pleased  while  there,  and  left  when  I  pleased.  Sometimes  they  have 
threatened  to  drum  me  out  of  town,  but  I  have  always  answered 
back,  saying :  'Boys,  I've  got  the  drums ;  I  won't  lend  them  to  you. 
I  am  going  to  dfum  you  out  before  this  thing  is  over.' 

"I  am  profoundly  grateful  to  God  that  at  this  moment  of  my  life 
I  can  lay  my  hand  on  my  heart  and  turn  my  eyes  into  the  faces  of 
the  millions  of  people  who  live  to-day  and  say  that  I  do  not  cherish 
an  unkind  feeling  toward  any  man  alive.  Looking  over  these  years 
I  can  see  the  mistakes  of  my  life  have  been  many.  I  can  see  where, 
in  a  thousand  ways,  I  might  have  improved  lost  opportunities  and 
shunned  breakers  upon  which  I  well-nigh  foundered.  But  with  the 
years  behind  me  and  whatever  God  may  allot  to  me  in  the  days  and 
years  to  come  in  this  world,  I  have  no  disposition  to  go  back  and 
pull  the  same  hills  and  fight  over  the  battles  again.  I  have  no  dis- 
position to  ask  for  an  armistice;    I  have  no  desire  to  compromise. 


340      •  Sam  P.  Jones. 

I  shall  never  change  my  methods  or  alter  my  plans  until  better  meth-- 
ods  and  truer  plans  shall  be  given  me  of  God.  The  myriads  of  ap- 
proving faces  and  warm  handshakes  and  kindly  God-bless-you's 
which  I  have  received  all  along  the  way  make  up  the  sweetest  memo- 
ries that  I  carry  with  me  to-day.  I  wish  for  humanity  all  peace 
and  happiness  here  and  a  crown  of  everlasting  life  hereafter. 

"My  faith  in  God  and  my  faith  in  humanity  grows  as  the  years 
go  by.  I  believe  in  God  with  all  my  heart,  and  never  had  more 
faith  in  humanity  than  I  have  to-day." 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


"De;ad  S01.D1ER  OF  THi:  Cross  Comes  Homk/' 

The  last  home-coming  of  Mr.  Jones  can  not  be  told  of  better  than 
"to  quote  from  his  home  paper,  the  Cartersville  News: 

"Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones,  the  great  evangelist,  is  dead.  He  died  on 
-Monday. 

"What  a  pang  of  sorrow  this  announcement  has  caused.  Not 
alone  to  the  people  of  Cartersville,  his  home  town,  is  the  knowledge 
that  he  is  no  more  a  source  of  deep  gloom,  but  to  the  people  all  over 
the  Union,  which  was  his  field. 

"The  news  of  Mr.  Jones's  death  when  it  first  reached  the  city 
through  the  Western  Union  telegraph  office,  was  not  believed.  Al- 
most every  one  who  heard  it  thought  there  must  be  some  mistake 
about  it.  It  said  he  was  found  dead  in  Louisville.  His  whereabouts 
liad  been  pretty  well  known  to  most  of  the  people.  He  was  supposed 
to  have  been  on  his  way  home  from  Oklahoma  City,  Olklahoma, 
where  he  had  been  holding  a  meeting,  but  his  supposed  itinerary 
did  not  include  Louisville.  However,  the  doleful  news  was  later 
confirmed  by  a  private  telegram.  When  the  people  began  to  no  lon- 
ger doubt  the  awful  truth,  then  there  was  great  manifestations  of 
sorrow  among  all,  every  eye  looking  into  every  other  eye  with  a  dis- 
tressed cast  which  meant  with  no  mistaking,  an  overpowering  com- 
mon sorrow.  Many  there  were  who  could  not  mention  the  event 
Avithout  breaking  down  in  a  flood  of  tears.  The  force  of  the  great 
loss  to  the  community  pressed  down  with  great  weight  upon  the 
Tiearts  of  all. 

"The  particulars  of  Mr.  Jones's  death  as  finally  obtained  were 
about  thus :  He  was  on  his  return  from  Oklahoma  City,  Oklahoma. 
He  had  been  holding  a  two-weeks'  meeting  there.  He  was  coming 
home  over  the  Choctaw  division  of  the  Rock  Island  Route.     The 

(341) 


342  Sam  P.  Jon^s. 

train  reached  Perry,  a  small  town  twelve  miles  out  from  Little  Rock, 
Ark.,  where  a  freight  wreck  detained  it.  On  the  train  with  him 
were  Mrs.  Jones,  his  two  daughters,  Mrs.  Annie  Pyron  and  Miss 
Julia  Baxter  Jones,  his  assistant  and  secretary,  Mr.  Thomas  Dun- 
ham ;  Rev.  Walt  Holcomb,  of  Nashville,  Tenn.,  who  has  been  assist- 
ing him  in  his  meetings ;  Prof.  Edwin  Smoot,  who  has  been  assist- 
ing him  as  vocalist.  They  were  all  aboard  the  sleeper.  At  about  six 
o'clock  Mr.  Jones  arose  from  his  berth  and  put  on  his  clothes.  He 
then  sought  the  porter  of  the  car  and  had  his  shoes  shined,  joking 
the  porter  in  a  light  vein  the  while.  He  woke  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Pyron,  complaining  of  a  collicky  feeling,  and  a  pain  about  his 
stomach.  He  asked  her  to  prepare  him  a  cup  of  hot  water.  While 
the  water  was  heating  his  daughter  sat  down  beside  him  on  the  seat 
in  the  open  space  in  the  sleeper.  He  seemed  to  continue  in  pain,  and 
Mrs.  Pyron  called  Mr.  Holcomb.  Then  the  others  of  the  party  were 
called.  As  Mr.  Holcomb,  with  Mrs.  Pyron,  was  ministering  to  the 
sick  man  as  best  he  could,  Mr.  Jones  fell  suddenly  over  the  seat, 
striking  the  hard  part  and  causing  a  small  abrasion  of  the  skin  on  his 
face  and  hands.  He  evidently  tried  to  speak,  but  made  no  audible 
utterance.  He  died  practically  in  the  arms  of  Mr.  Holcomb.  A  phy- 
sician was  summoned,  but  reached  the  train  too  late  to  be  of  avail. 
Heart  failure  was  supposed  to  have  been  the  cause  of  his  death,  but 
this  was  doubtless  superinduced  by  an  attack  of  acute  indigestion,  to 
which  Mr.  Jones  was  subject,  and  from  which  he  had  suffered 
greatly. 

"At  Little  Rock  the  body  was  under  the  care  of  an  undertaker, 
embalmed  and  prepared  for  the  homeward  journey.  Mr.  Tom  Dun- 
ham says  that  the  sorrow,  when  it  was  known  that  Mr,  Jones  was 
dead,  was  wonderful  to  witness.  At  Little  Rock  men,  weeping, 
pushed  their  way  to  where  the  body  lay,  saying  they  had  been  con- 
verted under  Sam  Jones's  preaching  and  expressing  what  wonderful 
things  he  had  done  for  them,  individually,  and  as  it  was  there,  so  it 
was  at  every  stop  that  was  made  where  the  people  could  get  access 
to  the  presence  of  the  sacred  remains.  All  along  in  the  towns  and 
the  country,  people  stood  with  bared  heads  on  the  side  of  the  track 
in  respect  to  the  great  man,  whose  corpse  was  passing.    At  Memphis, 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  343 

Nashville  and  Chattanooga  the  interest  and  sorrow  manifested  was 
especially  great. 

"Mr.  Jones's  remains  arrived  at  his  home  on  his  birthday,  a  birth- 
day, too,  that  had  been  planned  for  as  a  happy  occasion,  where  the 
members  of  the  family  and  the  relatives  would  gather,  /v  birthday 
dinner  was  to  be  a  special  feature.  The  big  turkey  had  been  killed 
and  all  the  preparations  for  a  home  feast  had  been  made.  It  was 
the  evangelist's  fifty-ninth  birthday,  and  enjoying  it  with  his  friends 
and  family,  he  was  to  have  gone  on  to  Holly  Springs,  Miss.,  there  to 
open  a  meeting,  assisted  by  Rev.  Walt  Holcomb  and  Prof.  Smoot. 
Alas !  that  death  should  have  destroyed  the  plan ! 

"Mr.  John  W.  Thomas,  Jr.,  president  of  the  Nashville,  Chatta- 
nooga &  St.  Louis  railway,  like  his  father,  has  been  for  some  time 
a  warm  personal  friend  of  Sam  Jones.  When  he  knew  of  his  friend's 
death,  and  the  place  and  circumstances,  he  immediately  interested 
himself  in  the  matter  of  assisting  to  get  the  remains  to  their  intended 
destination.  He  sent  a  special  engine  and  coach  to  bear  the  remains 
from  Memphis  to  Cartersville. 

"At  one-thirty  o'clock  Tuesday  afternoon  the  special  bearing  the 
remains  of  the  evangelist  reached  Cartersville.  Bulletins,  telling 
the  whereabouts  of  the  special  at  different  times  after  it  left  Chatta- 
nooga were  posted  in  public  places,  and  the  announcement  had  been 
made  that  the  fire  bell  would  be  rung  for  twenty  minutes  before  the 
arrival  of  the  special  to  give  the  people  notice.  As  soon  as  the  first 
solemn  peals  of  the  bell  were  heard,  and  even  before,  the  people  be- 
gan to  gather  about  the  depot,  and  by  the  time  the  train  arrived 
practically  the  population  of  the  entire  town  had  gathered.  On  the 
train  with  the  remains  were : 

"Mrs.  Jones,  Mrs.  Pyron,  Miss  Julia  Jones,  Mr.  Thomas  Dunham, 
Rev.  Walt  Holcomb,  Prof.  Edwin  Smoot,  Mr.  Ruohs  Pyron,  Mr.  B. 
C.  Sloan,  Rev.  French  Olliver,  Rev.  J.  A.  Bowen,  Rev.  G.  W.  Duval 
and  Mr.  Sam  P.  Jones,  Jr. 

"The  body  was  removed  from  the  special  to  the  city  park,  where 
the  box  was  removed  from  the  beautiful  casket.  The  casket  con- 
taining the  remains  was  then  placed  in  the  hearse  by  Mr.  J.  W. 
Jones.     A  procession  of  citizens  was  then  formed  to  escort  the  re- 


344  Sam  P.  JoNKS. 

mains  to  the  home.  The  hundreds  of  men  that  gathered  all  formed' 
a  line.  The  mayor  and  council  were  present  in  a  body,  and  formed 
a  part  of  the  escort.  The  solemn  procession  moved  toward  the  home 
and  made  a  touching  spectacle.  All  through  the  gathering,  and  in 
the  march  people  of  both  sexes,  and  all  ages,  were  seen  weeping. 
The  love  and  appreciation  of  Sam  Jones  in  his  own  community  was 
never  more  fittingly  exhibited  than  in  the  manifestations  of  grief 
shown  when  the  last  that  was  mortal  of  the  great  man  had  reached 
the  confines  of  the  town. 

"At  the  home  the  procession  of  citizens  formed  a  single  file  on 
each  side  of  the  walkway  and  in  the  space  between  the  files  the  body 
was  carried  into  the  home.  A  loving  invitation  was  then  given  for 
everybody  to  go  in  and  view  the  remains. 

"In  single  file  the  hundreds  that  gathered  moved  into  the  west  par- 
lor, where  the  remains  lay,  and  going  by  the  casket  took  a  last  look 
at  the  familiar  face  of  the  man  they  so  loved.  In  through  the  front 
door  went  the  thousands  of  white  friends,  while  from  the  rear  came 
the  hundreds  of  colored  people  who  almost  worshipped  "Mars' 
Sam,"  and  the  two  files  met  and  passed  at  the  casket  of  their  be- 
loved friend — stood  uncovered  and  equal  in  the  presence  of  the 
mighty  dead." 

One  of  the  truest  pictures  of  perfect  devotion  was  that  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Dunham,  who  never  left  Mr.  Jones  from  the  time  he  died 
until  he  was  placed  in  the  vault  at  Westview.  •  Tom  Dunham  had 
only  two  objects  in  life  for  the  past  twenty  years — to  be  near  Sam 
Jones  and  to  be  of  service  to  him,  and  when  the  object  of  that  un- 
failing devotion  died  he  felt  the  world  to  be  a  void.  He  was  con- 
verted under  Mr.  Jones's  ministry  in  the  great  Cincinnati  meeting, 
and  since  that  day  has  been  one  of  his  most  devoted  friends,  and  a 
real  "body-friend."  While  his  devotion  during  Mr.  Jones's  life  was 
something  remarkable,  it  was  not  until  his  death  that  it  was  per- 
fected. All  the  way  from  Memphis  he  stood  at  the  head  of  the 
casket,  and,  without  eating  or  sleeping,  gazed  upon  it  almost  every 
moment. 


o 
u 

CO 
rfi 
O 

U 


.;#-■ 


BOOK   THREE 
The  End 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 


The  Funkral  Service. 

The  funeral  service  of  Mr.  Jones  was  conducted  in  the  Carters- 
villa  Tabernacle.  There  was  no  church  large  enough  to  accommo- 
date the  thousands  that  had  come  to  pay  their  last  tribute  to  his 
memory.  It  was  very  appropriate  that  this  service  should  be  held 
in  the  Sam  Jones  Tabernacle,  as  Mr.  Jones  had  built  it,  and  for 
twenty  years  had  held  annual  evangelistic  services  there. 

Two  special  trains  bearing  Atlanta  people  -arrived  about  noon. 
Every  regular  train  which  arrived  in  Cartersville  was  crowded  with 
persons  from  all  parts  of  the  South.  Among  these  were  many 
prominent  people  and  personal  friends. 

The  funeral  march  was  completed  a  few  minutes  after  two 
o'clock,  and  soon  began  to  move  towards  the  Tabernacle.  Delega- 
tions from  secret  orders  to  which  Mr.  Jones  belonged  composed  the 
honorary  escort  and  led  the  procession.  The  Rome  Commandery 
of  Knights  Templar  and  local  lodges  of  Masons  and  Knights  of 
Pythias  were  well  represented. 

Following  the  fraternal  orders  were  the  honorary  pallbearers; 
which  followed  the  hearse,  lined  on  each  side  by  the  active  pall- 
bearers; then  the  carriages,  which  were  arranged  in  the  following 
order  as  far  as  the  seventh : 

The  first  five  carriages  contained  the  immediate  family  and  rela- 
tives and  close  friends.  The  sixth  and  seventh  carriages,  Bishop 
Galloway  and  the  ministers  who  were  to  assist  in  the  funeral  service. 

The  line  of  march  was  direct  from  the  residence  to  the  Tabernacle. 
A  block  from  the  home  several  hundred  schoolchildren  entered 
the  funeral  procession,  accompanied  by  the  members  of  the  school 
board. 

The  ministers  of  the  town  were  the  honorary  pallbearers.     The 

(347) 


348  Sam  P.  Jon^s. 

active  ones  were  Jahn  S.  Leake,  X.  S.  Munford,  W.  H.  Howard^ 
Jno.  H.  Wikle,  Jas.  W.  Knight,  J.  W.  Vaughn,  Dr.  R.  J.  Trippe, 
Robert  Milan,  J.  C.  Wofford  and  Mayor  Paul  Gilreath. 

The  great  Tabernacle  was  appropriately  draped,  and  presented  a 
sad  spectacle.  Every  available  seat  was  taken  by  those  who  had  been 
thronging  the  city  all  day  from,  all  sections  of  the  country,  and  from 
various  parts  oi  the  county. 

Special  provision  was  made  at  the  Tabernacle  for  the  colored 
people.  Many  of  them  failed  to  get  a  seat,  and  stood  around  the 
building.  The  colored  people  of  Cartersville  loved  Mr.  Jones  as 
devotedly  as  the  white  people,  and  they  were  glad  for  the  privilege 
of  attending  the  service.  When  one  of  the  preachers  mentioned  his 
triumphant  entrance  to  glory,  some  of  the  faithful  old  servants 
vv^ere  heard  to  shout  "Glory  to  God." 

The  casket  was  placed  on  the  platform,  where  Mr.  Jones  had  de- 
livered his  last  sermon  a  few  weeks  before,  and  was  covered  with 
flowers  which  had  been  sent  by  loving  friends. 

The  Scripture  reading,  as  the  remains  entered  the  Tabernacle,, 
was  by  Rev.  G.  W.  Duval,  his  pastor.  The  first  song  was  "How 
Firm  a  Foundation,"  which  was  announced  by  Rev.  McRee,  his 
presiding  elder. 

The  Old  Testament  lesson  was  read  by  Rev.  J.  E.  Barnard,  pastor 
of  the  Cartersville  Baptist  church. 

The  New  Testament  lesson  was  read  by  Rev.  W.  E.  Cleveland, 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  here. 

The  prayer  was  made  by  Rev.  J.  A.  Bowen,  of  Winona,  Miss., 
a  life-long  friend. 

The  quartette,  consisting  of  Mr.  E.  O.  Excell,  Charlie  D.  Till- 
man, French  E.  Oliver  and  Edwin  R.  Smoot,  sang  ]\Ir.  Jones's 
favorite  gospel  song,  "The  Old-Fashioned  Way." 

The  first  address  was  made  by  Rev.  Walt  Holcomb,  in  which  he 
gave  an  account  of  his  last  work  and  death. 

The  next  tribute  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Geo.  R.  Stuart,  who 
spoke  of  the  years  of  his  association  with  Mr.  Jones. 

By  special  request.  Judge  John  W.  Akin,  of  Cartersville,  Georgia,, 
one  of  the  foremost  lawyers  of  Georgia,   sometime  President  ot 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  i  349 

the  Georgia  Bar  Association,  Representative  for  five  years  from 
Bartow  county  and  Senator-elect  from  the  district  in  which  Mr. 
Jones  resided,  then  spoke  of  "Sam  Jones,  the  Citizen,"  as  follows: 

"The  Dead  Soldier  of  the  Cross  comes  home." 

"From  churches,  splendid  and  lowly;  from  tabernacles  and  bush 
arbors  and  amphitheaters;  from  the  lecture  platfonn  and  the  pul- 
pit; the  'Dead  Soldier  of  the  Cross  comes  home.' 

"From  the  soft  winds  of  Florida,  which  blow  through  the  jasa- 
mine  and  the  magnolia ;  from  the  far  white  fields  of  Canada,  where 
the  Ice  King  reigns;  from  the  Empire  of  the  West,  where  the 
mighty  Pacific  breaks  on  Californian  and  Oregonian  shores;  from 
the  snow-crowned  peaks  and  wondrous  beauty  of  the  Rocky  ]\Ioun- 
tains ;  from  where  the  blue-green  flood  of  the  great  Columbia  rushes 
through  the  Cascades  down  to  the  caverns  of  the  deep;  from  the 
Rio  Grande,  pouring  its  yellow  flood  into  the  emerald  bosom  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico;  from  Minneapolis  and  New  Orleans;  from  New 
York  and  San  Francisco;  from  Chicago  and  St.  Louis  and  Cincin- 
nati ;  from  the  throbbing  capital  of  the  ne\v-made  State,  the  thriving, 
bustling,  busy  Oklahoma,  where  his  last  great  work  was  done ;  from 
the  hundreds  of  cities  and  towns  and  villages  and  hamlets  where 
unnumbered  multitudes  hung  upon  his  words  and  were  moved  to 
better  things;,  from  the  far,  wide  fields  in  which  with  shield  and 
sword  he  fought  stout  battles  for  God  and  humanity;  from  all  these, 
the  'Dead  Soldier  of  the  Cross  comes  home.' 

"He  comes  to  his  own  people;  to  those  who  knew  him  longest 
and  who  knew  him  best ;  to  those,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  tearful 
eyes  and  heard  in  the  muffled  sobs  of  this  mighty  throng  before  me 
now,  who  loved  him  as  Friend,  as  Companion,  as  Brother. 

"He  comes  to  the  old  county  of  Bartow  in  the  older  State  of 
Georgia;  where  the  ashes  of  his  father  rest;  where  his  kindred  and 
friends  who  dropped  by  the  wayside  before  him  have  gone  to  sleep ; 
where  the  beautiful  Etowah  ripples  and  munnurs  through  hills  and 
valleys ;  and  where  old  Pine  Log  Mountain,  a  silent  sentinel  voice- 
less but  grand,  stands  out  against  the  rising  sun  like  some  giant 
sapphire,  cameo-cut,  in  the  reddening  glory  of  the  opening  day. 


350  Sam  P.  Jones. 

"To  this,  the  'Sam  Jones  Tabernacle,'  his  own  handiwork,  from 
beneath  whose  ample  roof  thousands  have  gone  forth  quickened 
to  higher  impulses  and  moved  to  a  nobler  life;  to  white-haired  men; 
to  women  tottering  with  age ;  to  those  in  the  full  strength  of  mature 
years;  to  young  men  and  maidens  blossoming  out  of  youth;  to 
little  children,  their  prattle  hardly  ceased ;  to  these  thousands  oi  all 
ages  and  conditions,  stunned  into  the  numbness  of  grief  by  the 
shock  of  his  sudden  death  within  one  moon  of  that  last  Sunday 
of  the  last  of  his  twenty-one  Tabernacle  meetings  on  this  spot, 
where  the  largest  audience  ever  gathered  here  saw  him,  strong, 
sturdy,  full  of  life  and  vigor,  with  wondrous  voice  and  flashing 
eye,  and  heard  him  preach  as  only  the  one  Sam  Jones  could  preach ; 
to  this  vast  throng  and  to  this  hallowed  spot,  the  'Dead  Soldier  of 
the  Cross  comes  home.' 

"I  would  that  I  might  speak  of  him  as  one  may  speak  of 
another  whose  years  of  neighborly  intimacy  and  friendship  have 
made  him  know  that  other's  mind  and  heart.  I  would  that  I  might 
tell  the  instances  in  his  life,  showing  the  many-sidedness  of  the 
man;  of  his  qualities  as  husband  and  father,  friend  and  neighbor, 
lecturer  and  preacher.  I  would  that  I  might  tell  of  the  pleasant 
and,  to  me,  instructive  social  intercourse  between  us;  of  our  inter- 
change of  thought  on  things  temporal  and  eternal ;  of  the  new  rev- 
elations of  his  brightness,  his  wisdom,  his  goodness,  his  genius, 
which  our  friendship  gave  me  occasion  to  know,  as  I  saw  more  and 
more  of  his  inner  mind  and  heart.  But  the  limitations  of  this  hour 
forbid. 

"I  am  to  speak  of  this  Shakespeare  of  the  pulpit  in  his  character 
of  Citizen, 

"It  is  a  great  word — 'Citizen.'  The  ancient  Romans  had  some 
idea  of  the  greatness  of  the  citizen  when  they  formed  from  the 
same  root  the  two  words.  Citizen  and  State.  The  multitudinous 
oppressed  and  despised  of  France  had  some  notion  of  its  importance 
when,  in  the  blood  and  fury  of  the  Revolution  of  1789,  they  sought 
to  abolish  all  titles  except  this  one — 'Citizen' — which  they  decreed 
should  be  bestowed  alike  upon  all.     So,  when  we  wish  to  dignify 


Sam  p.  Jones.  351 

the  office  of  President  of  this  great  Union,  we  speak  of  him  as  the 
First  Citizen  of  the  RepubHc. 

"To  be  a  g'ood  citizen  is  to  contain  within  one's  self  the  sum  of 
all  the  virtues.  One  may  be  a  good  father,  husband,  brother,  son, 
church-member,  neighbor,  friend,  without  being  a  good  citizen; 
but  no  one  can  be  a  good  citizen  without  being  all  of  these  and  more. 
The  good  citizen  obeys  the  law  and  practices  all  civic  and  personal 
virtues,  helps  others,  strives  to  raise  not  only  the  individual  but  also 
the  mass,  puts  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel  of  every  enterprise  designed 
for  public  good,  interests  himself  in  the  Republic,  the  State,  the 
county  and  the  town  in  which  he  lives,  selects  the  best  candidates 
and  the  best  platforms  and  helps  to  vote  them  into  office,  condemns 
public  wrong  and  sustains  pubhc  rig"ht,  is  willing  tO'  fight —aye, 
if  necessary,  to  die — for  his  country  and  the  right.  It  is  of  such 
stuff  that  heroes  are  made;  not  only  those  who  die  in  battle,  but 
also — what  is  often  harder — those  who,  amid  difficulties  and  dangers 
and  conflicts,  to  struggle  for  the  bettering  of  the  people  and  the 
uplifting  of  the  State. 

"Few  men  can  bear  this  test.  Many — I  believe,  the  major- 
ity— strive  to  reach  some  such  ideal.  Most,  perhaps  all,  fall  short 
of  this  goal  of  the  Perfect  Citizen. 

"Measured  by  this  standard,  tested  with  this  rule,  this  remarkable 
man  whose  tenement  of  clay  lies  before  us  draped  with  the  white- 
and-black  emblems  of  death  was  of  lofty  stature.  If  not  the  Per- 
fect, he  was  at  least  the  Commanding  and  Conspicuous  Citizen. 

"Some  men,  illustrious  away  from  home,  are  at  home  inconse- 
quential figures.  Some  indeed  are  greater  the  farther  from  home 
they  are.  But  Sam  Jones,  the  Citizen,  was  greatest  here — in  the 
homes  and  on  the  streets  of  Cartersville,  amid  the  people  of  Bartow 
county. 

"What  shall  I  say  of  him  as  Citizen?  Ask  the  men  v/ho  stood 
for  law  and  order  in  this  county  in  times  bygone,  when  activity, 
zeal  and  courage  were  needed  most  for  the  public  weal.  Ask  the 
men,  in  the  church  and  out  of  it,  some  of  whom  yet  bear  scars  of 
that  conflict  when  the  great  fight  was  being  fought  out  in  this 
county,  victory  in  which  drove  barrooms  from  the  soil  of  Bartow 


352  Sam  P.  Joni;s. 

forever.  Ask  those  friends  and  fellow  battlers  in  that  cause  who 
know  what  dangers  he  risked  and  faced  at  the  hands  of  misguided 
men,  who  later  recognized  his  valor,  his  faithfulness  and  his  right- 
eousness. 

What  shall  I  say  of  him  as  a  Citizen?  He  stood  for  the  right, 
as  God  gave  him  to  see  the  right,  in  all  departments  of  human  life 
and  endeavor.  He  hated  sin,  public  and  private.  He  hated  stin- 
giness and  meanness  and  smallness  in  the  private  citizen  as  well  as  in 
the  public  official.  He  may  have  made  mistakes.  He  may  have 
misjudged  parties  and  policies  and  their  representatives.  He  may 
have  been  deceived  by  men  and  associations  of  men.  But  he  tried 
to  see  the  right ;  and  in  that  effort  of  mental  vision,  he  had  an  instinct 
for  truth  and  good  far  beyond  that  of  most  men. 

"He  loved  rightness  and  he  hated  wrongness.  His  perception  of 
the  moral  qualities  of  human  conduct  was  so  keen  and  sharpi  as  to 
seem  instinctive.  And  perhaps  it  was  instinctive.  We  know  not,  in 
its  entirety,  the  source  and  cause  of  the  individual  consciousness  of 
right  and  wrong.  But  reason,  no  less  than  human  experience, 
demonstrates  the  fact  that,  in  spite  of  environment  and  education, 
there  is  in  some  men  more  than  in  others  a  born  intuition  of  such 
principles.  This  bom  intuition  as  to  right  and  wrong  differentiated 
the  moral  perception  of  Mr.  Jones  from  that  of  the  vast  majority 
of  mankind. 

"Armed  with  this  marvelous  intuition,  he  recognized  as  a  citizen 
the  expression  of  right  and  wrong  in  the  conduct  of  men.  He  saw 
this,  as  it  were,  by  the  lightning  flash  of  truth  through  the  storms 
and  clouds  of  men's  passions. 

"And  when  he  saw  it,  he  never  faltered  or  wavered.  At  once  he 
reached  down  a  helping  hand  to  lift  up  the  right  and  the  right-doer. 
At  once  he  struck  out  boldly  at  the  wrong  and  the  wrong-doer.  In 
neither  case  did  he  aim  at  the  individual  except  as  the  individual 
was  the  means  through  which  right  was  to  triumph  or  wrong  was 
to  crush.  Thus  it  is  that  wrong-doers  whose  evil  works  he  de- 
nounced in  pulpit  or  on  platform  with  tongue  of  fire,  while  often 
for  the  time-being  enraged,  in  the  end  frequently — nay,  with  prac- 
tical unanimity — came  to  like  him  and  to  admire  him.     His  life's 


Sam  p.  Jones.  353 

work  is  full  of  illustrations  of  this  truth.  It  is  absolutely  true  that 
nothing  of  personal  animosity  against  the  individual  who  did  the 
wrong  inspired  his  invective  or  rankled  in  his  breast.  It  was  the 
thing  he  aimed  at — not  the  man.  It  was  wrong-doing  and  evil- 
living  and  such  misconduct  as  flows  from  a  life  dominated  by  these 
things — it  was  this,  and  this  only,  which  he  abhorred  and  despised 
€ven  unto  the  white  heat  of  righteous  indignation.  Like  the  IMaster 
whom  he  served,  he  hated  the  sin,  he  loved  the  sinner.  And  when 
the  sinner  turned  about  and  set  his  face  to  the  light  of  righteous- 
ness, he  had  no  more  kind,  sympathetic  and  helpful  friend  than  Sam 
Jones. 

"It  is  of  these  principles  put  in  action  by  him  as  a  citizen  that  I 
would  speak  to  this  vast  and  sorrowing  throng,  so  many  of  whom 
knew  him,  admired  him,  loved  him.  And,  as  related  to  his  character 
as  a  citizen,  I  would  speak  of  one  other  phase  of  mind  and  heart 
in  which  he  was  remarkably  like  some  of  the  greatest  men  of  all 
times.  It  is  this:  While  he  was  sometimes  mistaken  in  the  man, 
he  rarely  misjudged  the  mass.  While  he  was  occasionally  deceived 
by  the  shrewd  and  designing  as  to  their  real  character  and  motives, 
yet  he  never  misjudged  human  nature  in  its  entirety  nor  as  to  its 
tendency.  It  is  needless  to  seek  reasons  for  this  psychologic  atti- 
tude. One  familiar  with  biography  will  recall  many  remarkable  ex- 
amples of  similar  trend.  Who  can  forget  the  numerous  instances 
where  the  great  Napoleon  selected  for  his  deepest  confidence  and 
his  most  important  offices  men  whose  real  character,  as  shown  by 
subsequent  events,  he  entirely  misjudged.  Yet  who  more  clearly 
and  instinctively  than  Napoleon  perceived  the  real  nature,  the  real 
desires,  the  real  passions,  the  real  tendencies  and  the  real  character 
of  that  great  nation  which  bore  in  victory  the  Eagles  of  the  Empire 
on  every  battlefield  of  Europe? 

"Let  m.e  add  that  the  one  evil  which  he  fought  hardest  and 
longest  and  bravest  was  the  monstrous  evil  of  whisky.  He  de- 
nounced all  the  concrete  sins.  He  was  an  enemy  to  gambling, 
social  and  commercial,  to  lewdness  of  thought  and  of  life,  to  cov- 
etousness,  to  profanity,  to  immorality  of  every  sort.  But  never 
did  he  wield  sword  so  deadly  or  give  blows  so  vigorously,  so  un- 


354  Sam  P.  Jones. 

compromisingly,  as  when  he  struck  at  the  unmitigated  and  inex- 
pressible evils  of  whisky  and  whisky-drinking.  In  this  he  spared 
no  opponent,  improved  every  chance  of  attack,  drove  to  the  hilt 
his  sword,  asked  no  quarter,  and  refused  all  compromise.  What- 
ever the  future  may  have  in  store  for  the  liquor  traffic,  its  defenders 
and  apologists  may  rejoice  that  Sam  Jones's  voice  is  hushed  and 
his  tongue  silent.  And  yet,  like  the  spirit  of  the  martyrs,  this  voice 
will  not  be  silent ;  for  in  the  memories  of  those  who  heard  him,  and 
in  the  minds  of  those  who  will  read  his  sermons  and  lectures  and 
speeches,  now  that  he  is  gone,  the  Lucifer  of  Rum  may  yet  find  an 
Archangel  Michael,  the  brightness  of  whose  sword  and  shield  not 
even  the  gates  of  death  can  entirely  obscure. 

"Once  more  I  ask  myself,  what  shall  I  say  of  him  as  a  citizen?* 
Alas,  alas,  how  vain  are  words !  And  yet  I  can  not  leave  this  plat- 
form without  saying  something  about  this  loved  and  loving  man 
which  comes  very  close  to  the  hearts  of  many  in  this  hushed  and 
reverential  throng  who  felt  not  merely  the  greatness,  but  the  sweet- 
ness and  tenderness  of  this,  the  First  Citizen  of  our  county  and  our 
town.  His  labors  kept  him  away  from  us  most  of  his  time.  When 
here,  it  was  generally  for  a  few  days  only.  Yet  he  did  not  come 
home  without  asking  as  soon- as  he  came  who  was  sick,  who  was 
in  trouble,  who  was  afflicted  and  sorrowful  among  the  people  of  his 
own  community.  And  when  he  found  the  homes  into  which  death 
or  sorrow  or  sickness  or  affliction  of  any  sort  had  come,  he  straight- 
way knocked  on  the  door  of  that  home.  He  entered  that  home. 
He  brought  brightness  and  cheer  and  comfort  and  good-fellowship 
to  that  home.  He  soothed  the  sorrowing.  He  comforted  the 
afflicted.    He  read  the  Bible  to  the  sick  and  prayed  for  them. 

"Not  only  this;  but  these  Christ-like  attentions  to  men  and 
women  and  children  were  not  confined  to  those  who  lived  in  fine 
houses  and  wore  fine  clothes.  He  entered  the  homes  of  the  poor, 
the  humble  and  the  lowly.  He  went  into  log  cabins  with  puncheon 
floors,  and  cracks  in  the  walls  through  which  the  winter  wind 
whistled.  He  put  his  gentle  hand  on  fevered  heads  resting  some- 
times on  a  straw  mattress  without  a  pillow.  In  such  homes  he  left 
not  only  kind  words,  but  bread  and  meat  and  medicine.     He  not 


Sam  p.  Jones.  355 

only  prayed,  but  he  sent  the  doctor.  Of  many  such  cases  I  know 
myself.  Of  others  I  have  heard' — rarely  from  him,  and  then  only 
incidentally. 

"Social  generally  he  was  not.  He  had  no  time.  His  life  was 
filled  with  other  and  greater  things.  But  while  he  neglected — for 
very  lack  of  time,  if  for  no  other  reason — what  some  may  call  the 
requirements  of  social  life,  he  did  not  neglect  those  who  needed  his 
visits,  his  attentions,  his  kindness. 

"Of  Jesus  we  read  in  the  Gospel  that  'the  common  people  heard 
him  gladly.'  If  this  be  the  test  of  the  divine  character  of  one's 
message,  then  the  message  delivered  by  Sam  Jones  was  divine; 
for  surely  nowhere  for  many,  many  years  has  there  been  one  whom 
'the  common  people  heard'  more  gladly  than  they  heard  Sam  Jones. 
He  understood  them.  He  sympathized  with  them.  He  had  com- 
passion upon  them. 

"And  this  compassion  expressed  itself  not  alone  by  word  of  mouth 
in  pulpit  and  tabernacle.  It  made  itself  felt  in  the  gentle,  unob- 
tmsive  ministrations  of  which  I  have  just  spoken. 

"You  will  forgive  me  for  thinking,  as  I  speak  these  words,  of  how 
he  came  to  me  and  to  my  home  when  I  was  so  long  under  the 
shadow  of  affliction;  of  how  his  visits  brightened  and  cheered; 
of  how  his  humor  beguiled  away  pain  of  body ;  of  how  like  one  of 
God's  ministering  angels  he  was.  Is  it  possible  that  I  shall  not  hear 
him  speak  again — that  I  shall  not  behold  the  flash  of  his  wonder- 
ful eye,  nor  see  him  smile  in  that  way  of  his  so  charming,  nor  shake 
his  hand?  Ah,  Science  stands  helpless  and  heartless  at  the  grave. 
But  there  is  something  stronger  and  higher  than  science  and  reason. 
Faith  speaks,  and  I  listen ! 

"This  is  no  time  to  take  his  measure.  It  is  not  needful;  and  if 
it  were,  we  do  not  know  as  yet  how  to  measure  him.  He  is  too 
close  to  us.  We  can  not  even  realize  that  he  is  dead,  as  men  say. 
We  must  see  him  in  the  perspective.  Perhaps  we  shall  not  see  his 
perspective  at  all.    Perhaps  this  will  be  left  to  other  generations. 

'^Those  who  live  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  rarely  look  upon  it  or 
think  of  its  beauty,  its  grandeur  and  sublimity.  They  can  not. 
They  are  too  close  to  it.     The  Swiss  cottagers,  dwelling  as  their 


356  Sam  P.  Jonks. 

fathers  did  before  them  among  the  Alps,  never  think  to  look  u\> 
toward  the  heavens  and  see  the  white  beauty  of  the  Matterhorn's 
icy  peaks  piercing  the  blue  of  heaven  and  reflecting  the  red  glory 
of  the  setting  sun,  after  night  has  fallen  and  the  stars  are  shining 
down  upon  the  simple  peasants  in  the  valleys  far  below.  They 
are  too  near  to  the  Matterhorn,  They  have  lived  too  long  in  sight 
of  its  sui-passing  beauty. 

"May  it  not  be  so  with  us,  as  to  the  character  and  attainments 
of  this  man  whom  we  memoralize  to-day?  It  is,  as  it  were,  but 
yesterday  that  we  heard  him  speak,  that  we  shook  hands  with  him,, 
that  we  met  him  on  the  street,  that  we  talked  with  him  and  that; 
he  talked  to  us.  It  is  only  a  few  years — so  swift  does  time  run 
by — that  he  was  unknown  beyond  the  limits  of  the  first  humble 
circuit  which  he  traveled  as  a  Methodist  itinerant.  Even  while 
applauding  multitudes  have  grown  and  grown  in  numbers  as  his 
fame  deepened,  broadened  and  widened;  yet  it  is  but  truth  to  say 
that  few,  if  any,  have  yet  read  and  studied  with  sufficiently  thought- 
ful criticism  his  sermons,  so  remarkable  for  their  simplicity  of 
thought  and  word,  and  also  for  the  hold  which  they  take  upon  the 
reader;  of  his  witticisms,  maxims  and  proverbs,  the  pungent  strength 
of  which  may  not  be  seen  without  reading  and  rereading;  of  the 
philosophy  of  his  thought  upon  things  religious;  of  the  wondrous 
versatility  of  his  talent;  of  his  undoubted  genius. 

"We  may  be  the  Swiss  peasants  living  far  down  in  the  valley, 
looking  on  the  commonplace  things  of  life,  seeing  only  the 
lines  of  local  environment.  We  may  now  and  then  glance  upward 
at  the  mountain  and  wonder,  perhaps,  how  high  it  is  and  how  far 
above  us  are  its  dazzling  caps  of  snow;  and  then  turn  back  to  the 
narrow  current  of  our  lives. 

"And  so  I  ask  myself  the  question,  will  not  multitudes  yet  un- 
born look  upon  this  Matterhorn  and  see  it  towering  up,  and  up,  and 
up,  far  away  into  the  skies,  and  gaze  with  rapt  vision  upon  the 
splendor  of  its  lofty  crest,  white  and  beautiful  beyond  our  power 
to  see  or  know?" 

The  funeral  oration  was  delivered  by  Bishop  Chas.  B.  Galloway,, 


Sam  p.  Jones.  35r 

a  life-long  friend  and  a  great  admirer  of  Mr.  Jones.     His  splendid 
tribute  is  given  in  full. 

"I  am  here  not  to  eulogize  the  distinguished  dead,  but  to  lay  a. 
flower  upon  the  grave  of  a  personal  friend,  and  pay  grateful 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  a  most  remarkable  man.  I  have  come 
*to  weep  with  those  that  weep.'  A  great  State  has  lost  its  best 
known  citizen,  a  great  church  its  most  popular  and  powerful 
preacher,  the  nation  its  most  noted  evangelist,  and  the  cause  of 
public  morality  one  of  its  mightiest  and  most  fearless  champions. 
In  the  strength  of  his  years  when  his  sun  was  at  the  zenith,  before  his 
powers  had  begun  to  fail,  or  his  voice  to  lose  its  charm,  this  great 
man  in  Israel  has  been  summoned  to  his  rich  reward. 

"What  strange  paradoxes  were  wrapped  up  in  that  masterful 
man  and  his  brilliant  career.  He  was  a  genius  without  eccentricity^ 
a  great  personality  without  peculiarities,  unique  without  being 
erratic,  a  wonderful  orator  without  the  graces  of  oratory,  a  mars^el- 
ous  preacher  with  little  concern  for  the  rules  of  homiletics,  and 
a  philosopher  without  the  aid  of  a  pale  guide  and  a  student's  lamp. 

"He  had  all  the  gifts,  without  the  cultivation,  of  a  great 
philosopher.  What  he  lacked  in  learning  was  made  up  in  the 
keen  penetration  and  clear  discernment  of  a  student  of  human 
nature.  If  limited  in  his  familiarity  with  history,  he  knew  the 
forces  that  make  history  and  determine  destiny. 

"Had  his  laiowledge  of  books  equaled  his  acquaintance  with 
men — had  he  known  the  history  of  the  human  heart  as  well  as 
he  knew  its  great  motives  and  subtle  passions — he  might  have 
commanded  a  much  larger  place  in  the  story  of  his  times. 

"He  had  many  rare  qualities  and  attractive  virtues,  but  one  great 
gift — the  gift  of  commanding  utterance.  And  upon  that  his  fame 
will  rest  and  his  influence  abide.  His  pre-eminence  was  as  a 
preacher.  God  anointed  him  to  be  a  prophet  in  Israel,  and  clothed 
him  with  a  power  seen  but  a  few  times  in  a  generation.  He  was 
not  called  to  wield  a  pen,  but  to  be  a  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness. 
He  might  have  succeeded  at  the  bar,  but  his  throne  was  the  pulpit, 
and  his  mission  the  redemption  of  his  fellow  men. 

"And  what  a  master  of  assemblies  he  was!     Measured  by  the 


358  ;         Sam  P.  Jones. 

multiplied  thousands  that  crowded  again  and  again  to  hear  him, 
and  by  the  dead  consciences  he  awakened,  and  the  penitential  tears 
he  started,  and  the  high  purposes  he  inspired,  and  the  reforms  he 
instituted,  and  the  converted  souls  he  led  to  his  Lord,  he  must 
go  down  in  history  as  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  of  the 
last  half  century. 

"Were  I  called  upon  to  state,  in  a  few  words,  the  qualities  that 
gave  greatness  to  this  master  of  assemblies,  and  enabled  him  to 
sway  with  the  wand  of  a  magician  the  vast  thousands  that  crowded 
to  his  ministry,  I  should  say  they  were  his  philosophical  insight 
into  the  secret  springs  of  motive,  his  power  of  lucid  and  luminous 
statement,  his  rare,  genial  humor,  the  breadth  and  wealth  of  his 
genuine  love  for  humanity,  and  the  marvelous  qualities  of  his 
wonderful  voice — all  under  the  domination  and  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Spirit. 

"He  said  more  quotable  things  than  any  man  of  his  generation. 
There  are  few-  homes  in  which  some  saying  of  his  is  not  repeated. 
He  had  a  genius  for  proverb-making. 

"I  believe  that  one  secret  of  his  strange  power  as  a  preacher 
was  the  fact  that  all  his  appeals  were  directly  to  the  human 
conscience.  His  theory  was  that  the  conscience  was  on  the  same 
level,  whether  in  a  philosopher  or  a  child — whether  in  a  scholar 
or  an  illiterate.  And  that  the  message  needed  to  arouse  the  one 
could  not  fail  to  awaken  the  other.  Therefore,  like  St.  Paul,  he 
felt  himself  a  debtor  to  the  Greek  and  the  barbarian,  to  the  wise 
and  the  unwise. 

"He  demonstrated  the  fact  that  the  day  of  the  preacher  and 
public  speaker  had  not  passed.  The  living  voice  is  as  potential 
to-day  as  ever  in  the  world's  history.  The  printed  page  may  inform 
the  mind,  but  the  living  messenger  is  necessary  to  kindle  passion 
and  urge  men  to  action.  The  preaching  function  of  the  priesthood 
can  never  lose  its  authority.  As  in  the  olden  times,  when  Isaiah's 
\oice  was  heard  in  Israel,  and  Paul  preached  on  Mars  Hill,  the 
divinely  called  man  with  a  message  will  ever  be  the  mightiest  force 
in  his  generation. 

"His  life  of  almost  unexampled  activity  was  dominated  bv  one 


Sam  p.  Jones.  359 

high  and  holy  purpose — to  do  good  to  his  fellow  men  and  faithfully 
serve  his  generation  by  the  will  of  God.  From  that  purpose  he  was 
never  deflected,  and  from  God's  service  his  heart  never  felt  the 
slightest  alienation.  To  that  high  aim  every  ambition  was 
subordinated,  and  every  energy  put  in  commission. 

"Believing  that  Providence  had  clearly  indicated  his  field  of 
largest  usefulness,  to  be  unconfined  by  the  narrow  limits  of  a  local 
pastorate,  he  retired  from  the  regular  itinerant  ministry,  and  made 
the  nation  his  parish.  Whatever  the  judgment  of  others  as  to  the 
wisdom  of  that  course,  he  never  doubted  that  God  had  ordered  it 
and  His  blessings  would  approve  it.  In  every  State  of  the  Union 
his  voice  was  heard  by  eager  thousands,  preaching  with  the  same 
fearless  fidelity  and  Christly  sympathy  as  to  the  humble  friends  and 
neighbors  on  his  first  Georgia  circuit. 

"Without  attempting  any  recital  of  the  facts  of  a  brilliant  history, 
I  shall  merely  mention  a  few  features  of  a  noble  character. 

"First  of  all,  because  above  all  and  best  of  all,  our  honored 
brother  was  remarkable  for  the  strength  and  solidity  of  his  moral 
character.  There  was  granite  in  its  foundations,  and  every  living 
stone  was  polished  after  the  similitude  of  a  palace.  Flaws  there 
may  have  been,  but  no  fissures — discolorations,  but  no  suggestion 
of  disintegration.  The  storms  of  life  sometimes  strained,  but  never 
moved  it.  The  rains  descended,  the  floods  came  and  the  winds 
blew,  but  when  the  sky  had  cleared  he  stood  unshaken  and  majestic 
as  a  mighty  mountain.  However  much  men  may  have  criticised  his 
utterances,  or  questioned  the  wisdom  of  his  policies,  no  one  ever 
doubted  the  integrity  and  purity  of  his  character.  Had  there  been 
in  it  any  serious  weakness,  some  curious  or  critical  or  envious  eye 
would  have  quickly  discovered  it  and  loudly  proclaimed  it,  but 
throughout  his  brilliant  career,  every  hour  in  the  fierce  public  glare, 
his  mission  and  methods  as  a  reformer  inviting  and  encountering 
stubborn  hostility,  he  fought  and  wrought  and  finally  died,  without 
the  faintest  shadow  on  his  beautiful  character.  There  were  notches 
on  his  trusty  blade,  but  not  a  blur  on  his  noble  name. 

"He  genuinely  loved  his  fellow  men,  and  never  lost  hope  for  hu- 
manity.    He  believed  in  a  gospel  that  can  redeem  a  world,  and  like 


•560  Sam  P.  JoN:es. 

his  Lord,  he  went  out  to  seek  and  save  the  lost.  And  no  poor 
prodigal  ever  got  so  low  or  wandered  so  far  as  to  be  beyond  the 
reach  of  his  hopeful  message  and  helpful  sympathy.  And  that 
made  the  world  love  him  so.  There  is  nothing  more  divinely 
attractive  than  the  radiance  of  hope,  and  nothing  more  cheerless 
and  forbidding  than  the  notes  of  discouragement  and  despair.  Tell 
a  poor,  blasted,  blistered  soul  that  there  is  hope  for  him,  and  his 
wailings  will  turn  to  pleadings,  and  his  despair  into  the  tones  of 
prevailing  prayer.  It  was  this  ever-reiterated  gospel  for  the  worst 
sinner  that  helped  to  attract  the  thousands  to  his  ministry. 

"The  bells  of  St.  Michael's,  in  Charleston,  S.  C,  that  have  chimed 
the  hours  of  morning  and  evening  prayer  since  Colonial  times,  have 
a  strange  history.  They  have  crossed  the  Atlantic  ocean  five  times. 
During  the  Civil  War  they  were  shipped  to  Columbia  for  safe- 
keeping. But  on  a  certain  famous  march  to  the  sea  they  were 
burned  and  broken  into  fragments  by  the  hands  of  a  vandal.  Every 
sacred  piece  was  gathered  up,  and  all  shipped  back  to  the  foundry 
in  which  they  were  originally  cast.  There  they  were  made  anew 
and  brought  home  to  the  tower  of  St.  Michael's  without  the  loss  of 
a  single  note  or  the  lowering  of  a  single  majestic  tone. 

"Thus,  this  good  man  believed  God  could  do  with  every  sinful, 
broken  human  life.  Gather  up  scarred  and  scattered  fragments, 
make  them  anew  in  His  image,  and  put  cathedral  music  into  the 
redeemed  soul. 

"His  moral  courage  was  nothing  less  than  sublime.  What  he 
conceived  to  be  the  path  of  duty  he  would  pursue,  though  a  lion 
crouched  in  the  shadow  of  every  tree.  No  threat  of  man,  or  fear 
of  all  the  legions  of  darkness,  could  stay  his  course  or  hush  his 
imperial  voice.  And  yet  there  was  in  him  nothing  of  rashness, 
and  he  never  spoke  without  premeditation.  His  was  not  a  harsh, 
but  a  gentle  nature.  He  had  a  strong,,  soft  hand.  The  tones  of 
his  voice  were  authoritative,  but  the  undertones  were  gentleness 
and  love.  Though  he  sometimes  showed  the  sternness  of  a  Hebrew 
prophet,  he  really  had  the  tenderness  and  sweet  persuasiveness  of 
an  apostle.  Who  but  this  master  of  the  human  heart  could  unite 
5uch  startling  and  overwhelming  plainness  of  speech  with   lyric 


Sam  p.  Jones.  361 

tenderness  and  irresistibje  persuasiveness!  With  a  sternness  that, 
was  at  times  as  awful  as  Sinai,  he  united  a  pathos  that  made  every* 
eye  a  fountain  of  tears. 

"If  he  sometimes  used  the  muck-rake,  it  was  not  simply  to  expose 
the  rottenness  of  society  and  the  wickedness  of  the  world,  but  that 
the  healing  light  of  the  truth  might  shine  upon  and  cure  it.  He- 
uncovered  sin  that  it  might  be  destroyed.  He  rent  the  robe  of 
hypocrisy  that  its  ghastly  deformity  might  cease  to  deceive.  But 
for  every  penitent  he  had  a  mantle  of  charity,  and  for  every  home- 
coming prodigal  a  joyous  welcome. 

"He  was  free  from  the  weaknesses  and  vices  of  narrow  natures. 
His  great  soul  v/as  too  generous  for  jealousy  and  too  broad  for 
bigotry.  Envy  found  no  hiding-place  in^  his  brotherly  and  sunny 
heart.  He  coveted  no  man's  position  or  possessions,  and  envied  no 
human  being  his  fame  or  his  fortune.  It  never  occurred  to  him 
that  any  rival  stood  in  the  way  of  his  attainments  or  achievements. 
No  Mordecai  sat  in  the  gateway  of  his  noble  soul.  He  rejoiced 
that  the  world  is  wide,  with  an  inviting  field  for  every  honest  toiler,. 
and  ample  reward  for  every  faithful  workman;  that  there  is  a 
chaplet  for  every  heroic  brow,  and  a  throne  for  every  really  royal 
soul.  While  deeply  appreciative  of  his  large  place  in  the  nation's 
esteem — pardonably  proud  of  his  wonderful  and  long-sustained 
popularity — he  generously  rejoiced  in  the  honors  and  success  of 
every  worthy  man.  I  never  heard  him  speak  a  disparaging  word  of 
any  mortal  who  had  high  aims  and  a  serious  purpose.  His  generous 
hand  would  have  withered  had  he  attempted  to  pluck  a  star  from 
another's  crown.  Such  magnanimity  is  one  of  the  final  tests  of: 
true  greatness. 

"But  time  fails  me  to  speak  more  at  length  of  my  glorified  friend. 
We  would  fain  have  kept  him  longer,  but  the  Lord  knew  best.  His 
was  a  life  that  can  not  go  out ;  it  will  go  on. 

"The  end  came,  not  exactly  as  he  had  hoped,  but  as  beautifully 
and  triumphantly  as  any  heart  could  wish.  It  was  just  after  a  great, 
revival  in  which,  as  on  so  many  notable  occasions,  God  had  wonder- 
fully honored  his  ministry.  With  the  tears  of  a  penitent  still 
gladdening  his  eyes,  the  tired  preacher  was  told  that  it  is  time  to 


362  Sam  P,  Jonks. 

rest.  Between  a  revival  and  an  expected  family  reunion,  the  angels 
met  him  and  carried  him  to  the  house  of  many  mansions.  In  that 
heavenly  home  may  there  be  no  vacant  chair !" 

At  the  close  of  Bishop  Galloway's  address  the  quartette  sang 
"My  Heavenly  Father  Knows." 

The  closing  prayer  was  by  Rev.  John  D.  Culpepper,  luka,  Miss., 
who  was  associated  with  Mr.  Jones  in  some  of  his  evangelistic 
meetings. 

Bishop  Galloway  pronounced  the  benediction. 

After  the  ceremonies  the  remains  were  carried  back  to  the  home 
and  remained  there  until  Friday  morning,  when  his  body  was  re- 
moved to  Atlanta. 


ATLANTA  MOURNS  AT  THE  BIER  OF  SAM  JONES. 


ill.  *■ 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


Body  Lies  in  State  in  Atlanta. 

The  Atlanta  people,  who  felt  such  a  loss  at  Mr.  Jones's  death, 
desired  an  opportunity  to  see  him  before  his  burial.  The  General 
Council  of  the  city  met  and  adopted  the  following  resolutions : 

"Whereas,  We  have  learned  with  profound  sorrow  of  the  sud- 
den death  of  Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones;  and 

"Whereas,  He  was  much  beloved  byour  citizens,  because  of  his 
constant  interest  in  the  upbuilding  of  our  city  and  his  many  efforts 
to  advance  and  improve  its  social  and  moral  condition,  and  our  peo- 
ple desire  to  pay  tribute  to  his  memory  and  to  testify  to  their  regard 
for  him  and  his  work ;  therefore,  be  it 

"Resolved,  by  the  Mayor  and  General  Council,  That  we  extend 
to  his  family  this  formal  expression  of  our  sincere  sympathy,  and 
that  we  feel  a  personal  bereavement  by  his  death ;   be  it  further 

"Resolved,  That  we  request  his  family  to  permit  his  body  to  lie 
in  state  in  the  Capitol  of  Georgia  that  his  thousands  of  friends  may 
view  his  remains  and  give  expression  to  their  appreciation  of  his 
life  and  service." 

On  motion  of  Councilman  Wikle,  the  following  committee  was 
appointed  to  go  to  Cartersville  to  attend  the  funeral : 

Councilmen  Wikle,  Patterson,  Martin,  Terrell  and  Foster,  and 
Aldermen  Quillian  and  Harwell. 

In  response  to  this  earnest  request,  his  body  was  carried  to  At- 
lanta the  morning  after  the  funeral. 

The  special  train  left  Cartersville  at  eight-thirty  o'clock.  Mr. 
John  Welch,  the  engineer,  upon  whose  engine  Mr.  Jones  had  ridden 
so  many  times,  and  who  himself  was  one  of  Mr.  Jones's  oldest 
friends,  pulled  the  throttle.  Mrs.  Welch  rode  on  the  engine  with 
her  husband.    They  had  draped  the  engine  in  black  and  white,  and 

(363) 


364  Sam  P.  Jonks. 

in  front  of  the  engine,  just  under  the  headhght,  was  a  Hfe-sized 
portrait  of  Mr.  Jones  appropriately  draped. 

The  casket  was  borne  to  the  train  by  the  pallbearers  who  as- 
■sisted  at  the  funeral,  and  who  accompanied  the  remains  to  Atlanta. 

At  least  two  thousand  people  were  gathered  at  the  depot  when 
the  special  left.  A  great  many  close  and  intimate  friends  from 
Cartersville  and  Atlanta  followed  the  remains  to  the  city.  As  the 
train  started  off  many  were  in  tears.  Mr.  Jones  was  something 
more  to  Cartersville  than  the  great  revivalist ;  he  had  been  a  friend 
and  neighbor. 

All  along  the  way  at  each  station  great  crowds  assembled  to  see 
the  train  go  by. 

At  ten-thirty  o'clock  the  party  arrived  in  Atlanta.  Two  hours 
before  the  arrival  of  the  train  a  throng  of  people  began  to  gather. 
They  stood  about  the  depot,  on  the  streets,  and  lined  up  on  the  via- 
duct under  which  the  special  train  passed.  As  the  muffled  whistle 
announced  the  arrival  of  the  train,  the  people  uncovered  their  heads 
and  stood  reverently  around  the  station,  on  the  viaduct  and  in  the 
streets. 

The  local  ministers  and  a  committee  of  the  Council  appointed  to 
have  charge  of  the  body  while  in  Atlanta  met  the  train.  The  com- 
mittee stood  on  each  side  of  the  depot  entrance,  the  ministers  to  the 
right,  and  the  prominent  citizens  to  the  left.  The  floral  offerings, 
consisting  of  roses,  chrysanthemums,  orchids,  and  many  other 
flowers,  had  been  fashioned,  into  wreaths,  crosses,  and  other  designs, 
were  first  removed  from  the  baggage-car.  Through  the  passage- 
way the  pallbearers  bore  the  casket,  covered  with  floral  offerings, 
to  the  hearse,  which  Air.  Patterson,  the  undertaker,  had  waiting 
outside. 

The  family  and  friends  of  Mr.  Jones  was  then  directed  to  car- 
riages. Mrs.  Jones  and  the  family  were  driven  to  the  home  of  i\Ir. 
R.  P.  Milan,  while  the  body  was  taken  to  the  Capitol. 

The  cortege  proceeded  slowly  through  a  dense  crowd  up  Pryor 
to  Decatur  street,  thence  to  Peachtree,  along  Whitehall  to  Mitchell, 
and  across  Alitchell  to  Washington  street  and  the  entrance  to  the 
•Capitol. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  365 

All  along  the  streets  people  bowed  their  heads  out  of  respect  to 
the  memory  of  Mr.  Jones.  Waiting  at  the  Capitol  was  even  a 
greater  throng  than  that  which  had  been  at  the  station,  and  upon  the 
streets.  One  of  the  most  touching  scenes  was  when  Rev.  H.  L,. 
Cnimley,  Superintendent  of  the  Decatur  Orphan's  Home,  with  a 
dozen  or  more  little  girls  wearing' the  blue  uniform  of  the  institu- 
tion, walked  down  from  the  Capitol  to  the  street  with  their  arms  full 
of  flowers.  The  pallbearers  removed  the  casket  to  the  Capitol. 
The  orphan  children  followed  close  by.  The  casket  was  placed 
tinder  the  great  dome  of  the  Capitol,  where  hung  the  life-sized 
paintings  of  Toombs,  Stephens,  Grady,  Hill,  Gordon,  and  other 
distinguished  men.  Mr.  Jones  had  been  personally  acquainted  with 
many  of  these  great  men  of  Georgia,  and  held  them  in  the  highest 
esteem,  while  they  appreciated  his  ability  and  work  as  a  minister. 

When  the  casket  was  placed  in  the  center  of  the  Capitol  building, 
•while  the  thousands  of  people  filled  the  rotunda  and  every  entrance, 
waiting  for  a  chance  to  take  a  last  look  at  the  quiet  features  of  the 
beloved  dead.  Rev.  French  E.  Oliver,  of  Chicago,  a  co-worker  of 
Mr.  Jones,  and  an  intimate  friend,  standing  at  the  head  of  the  cas- 
ket, paid  the  following  tribute  to  the  memory  of  his  departed  friend ; 

"Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones  was  the  greatest  admixture  of  contrast  that 
ever  combined  in  one  human  being,  so  far  as  my  reading,  observa- 
tion or  personal  acquaintance  can  gauge.  He  had  the  dauntless 
courage  of  a  thousand  brave  men,,  and  the  sympathy  and  tenderness 
of  the  sweetest  woman.  He  was  the  great  diagnostician,  studying 
the  pathology  of  the  pandemics,  endemics  and  epidemics  of  mankind, 
morally  and  religiously.  Then  he  became  a  master  surgeon,  driving 
the  scalpel  into  the  diseased  parts,  causing  excruciating  pains  to  the 
one  into  whom  he  drove  the  instrument — but  he  was  in  the  next 
moment  the  soft-handed,  sweet-voiced  nurse,  administering  the 
balms  and  tonics  to  the  suffering  sinner. 

"He  was  a  whole  fearless  regiment,  sweeping  across  the  battle- 
field with  cyclonic  fury,  leaving  the  field  strewn  with  the  wounded 
and  dying;  then  he  was  the  whole  Red  Cross  society,  following  in 
the  wake  of  the  caustic  cataclysm,  bringing  the  comfort  of  a  thou- 
sand loves  to  the  aching  hearts.    Brother  Jones  never  gave  a  thorn 


366  Sam  P.  Jones. 

without  a  rose ;  he  never  gave  honey-comb  without  the  honey ;  he- 
never  hurt  a  man  in  this  world,  in  his  great  ministerial  career,  but 
for  the  purpose  of  tearing  off  the  mask  and  allowing  men  to  see 
themselves. 

''To  him  the  pulpit  was  no  gilded  prison  cell  in  which  to  palaver, 
palliate  or  pander.  He  had  no  fear  of  poignant  persecution,  no  bow 
to  make  before  a  reprobate  task-master,  ruling  a  degenerate  company 
of  pulpit  puppets  with  a  rod  of  gold.  While  some  pulpits  dealt  in 
painted  fire,  Sam  Jones  dealt  in  real  fire.  Irrevocable  conviction 
swept  him  into  a  relentless  warfare,  where  he  did  more  to  strengthen 
the  backbone  of  the  American  preachers  than  any  man  who  has  ever 
labored  in  this  country.  To  him — as  he  told  me  a  few  weeks  ago  in 
his  home — the  pulpit  was  a  throne,  whereupon  he  was  called  to  sway 
his  scepter  of  righteousness,  love  and  faithfulness. 

"He  had  the  conviction  that  he  was  sent  of  God — I  know  he  was ! 
To  this  age  when  cowardice,  superficialities,  poltroonism,  policy- 
seeking  and  infidelity  surged  like  billows  over  the  religious  as  well 
as  the  political  life  of  our  nation,  he  was  as  truly  God's  prophet  say- 
ing, 'Thou  art  the  man'  as  was  Nathan  in  his  day.  His  strength  can 
only  be  measured  by  the  burden  he  bore.  The  cross  that  he  bore  was 
heavy ;  he  suffered  pains  which  would  have  made  a  giant  crouch  and 
cower  like  a  belabored  hound — but  he  bore  them  as  a  prince  of 
Israel,  which  he  was.  I  heard  him  tell  recently  how  the  sorrows  of 
the  grave  encompassed  him,  and  when  it  seemed  that  his  goal  was 
despair,  God  seemed  to  speak  audibly  to  him  these  words  : 

"  'When  through  the  waters  I  cause  thee  to  go. 
The  rivers  of  woe  shall  not  thee  overflow. 
For  I  will  be  with  thee,  thy  troubles  to  bless 
And  sanctify  to  thee,  thy  deepest  distress.' 

and  when  he  turned  and  told  his  precious  wife  the  answer  of  God  to 
his  heart,  she  said :  'My  darling,  God  gave  me  the  same  words  at  the 
same  moment.' 

"I  know  how  mellow  his  great  heart  was.  I  have  prayed  and 
wept  with  him  in  his  own  home,  where  the  evidences  of  weakness  or 


Sam  p.  JoN:es.  367 

strength  in  any  man  are  exhibited.  He  showed  that  he  was  a  tower 
of  strength ;  he  fought  a  good  fight ;  he  finished  his  course.  The  in- 
trepid warrior  has  faced  earth's  last  battlefield.  To-day  he  is  wear- 
ing a  crown  which  God  gave  him  when  he  lifted  the  cross  from  his 
tired  shoulders.  He  has  met  Jesus  Christ  and  God  the  father,  and 
now  he  may  be  talking  with  Daniel,  or  Abraham,  or  Paul  or  John. 
He  has  kissed  his  mother,  and  grasped  his  father's  hand.  His  little 
babe  which  went  before  him  has  welcomed  him  into  the  city.  Let  an 
object  pass  one  inch  earthward  or  skyward  at  the  point  of  equipoise 
where  is  registered  the  limit  of  the  earth's  attraction,  as  well  as  the 
limit  of  the  sun's  attraction,  and  instantly  it  will  move  earthward  or 
sunward.  Brother  Jones  reached  that  point  in  the  spiritual  firma- 
ment, for  there  is  that  point  of  spiritual  equipoise  between  earth  and 
heaven.     Heaven's  attraction  drew  him  home  to  God  forever." 

The  body  remained  in  the  Capitol  from  eleven  a.m.  to  four  p.m. 
The  people  began  to  pass  through  the  building,  and  there  was  a 
■constant  stream  of  humanity  for  five  hours.  As  they  took  the  last 
look  at  the  man  they  loved  many  tears  flowed  down  their  cheeks,  and 
with  deep  emotion  they  passed  by,  frequently  speaking  of  how  he 
liad  helped  them  in  their  lives.  One  good,  earnest  Christian  woman, 
as  she  took  her  last  look  at  him,  said,  "Oh,  I  can't  stand  it,"  and 
as  she  walked  away  she  fell  to  the  floor.  She  was  hastily  carried 
into  the  office  of  the  Comptroller,  and  was  laid  upon  a  lounge,  but 
was  soon  dead.    She  was  a  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Jones. 

It  is  estimated  that  at  least  thirty  thousand  people  looked  into  his 
face  during  the  hours.  Finally  the  doors  were  closed,  and  the  Capitol 
grounds  were  soon  crowded  again,  when  the  doors  were  reopened, 
and  for  ten  minutes  the  people  passed  by  the  casket.  If  his  body 
could  have  remained  there  during  the  evening  hours,  after  the  day's 
work  had  ended,  there  would  have  been  not  less  than  one  hundred 
thousand  people  who  would  have  looked  into  his  calm  and  blessed 
face. 

The  body  was  removed  from  the  Capitol  to  the  Westview 
Cemetery,  the  last  funeral  rite  was  read,  and  the  casket  placed  in 
the  vault  to  remain  there  until  removed  to  the  family  vault  in  Car- 
tersville. 


368  Sam  P.  Jones. 


Sam  Jones  is  Home. 

Across  the  fields  the  light  is  softly  stealing — 

Sam  Jones  is  home ! 
Though  at  the  cross  of  pain  sad  ones  are  kneeling 

In  sorrow's  gloom, 
'Round  God's  great  throne  joy's  songs  are  loudly  pealing — 

That  he  is  home ! 

States  on  his  bier  their  wreaths  of  fame  are  placing ; 

And  Time  its  home 
Has  opened  and  Fame's  fingers,  his  name  tracing, 

Write  him  her  own ; 
But  Georgia's  arms  for  all  time  are  embracing 

Her  son — at  home. 

Sin-shattered  hearts  that  knew  him  here  are  feeling 

The  shadows  lone — 
But,  ah,  look  up  ye,  who  in  grief  are  kneeling, 

Ye  hearts  that  mourn — 
Above  the  clouds  which  round  you  now  are  stealing — 

Sam  Jones  is  home ! 

O.  G.  Cox. 


BISHOP  CHAS.   H.   CALLOWAY. 


REV.  GEO.  R.   STUART. 


il^monal  ^n\tm^ 


A  pnbiu  tribute  to  tij?  i:I|arart?r  nnh  mnvk  at  tlj?  kt? 

^amu^l  Porter  Sottas 

Sgman  AuiHttnrium 

^unliag  afternoon,  (^rtohrr  tmf ntg-^tgiitli 
(Fujn-tl)trtg  n'rlnrk 


13  j 


Programme 


Bishop  O.  P.  Fitzgerald,  Chairman 

Mr.  Allen  G.  Hall,  Vice-Chairman,  Presiding 

I. 

Music 

Invocation Rev.  Wm.  T.  Haggard 

II. 
©rattnna 

"The  Preacher" Rev.  R.  Lin  Cave 

"The  Man"       .       .       .        U.  S.  Senator  Edward  W.  Carmack 

Music 
III. 

Rev.  W.  F.  Tillett  Prof.  J.  W.  Brister 

Prof.  J.  J.  Keys  Hon.  John  Bell  Keeble 

Music 

IV. 

®np-iltnutr  (EalkH 

Limited  to  those  converted  under  Mr.  Jones's  preaching 

V. 

"His  Last  Days" Rev.  Walt  Holcomb 

Music 

VI. 
Invitation Dr.  R.  A.  Torrey 

Doxology  Benediction 

Bishop  O.  P.  Fitzgerald 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


Memorial,  Tributes. 

There  were  memorial  services  held  all  over  the  country  in  honor 
of  Mr.  Jones,  and  beautiful  tributes  paid  him  by  devoted  friends. 
It  has  been  impossible  to  speak  of  all  these  services,  and  publish  the 
many  tributes.  We  mention  the  services  in  Nashville,  Chattanooga 
and  Atlanta.  These  memorial  services  were  held  in  the  largest 
auditoriums  in  these  cities.  The  immense  throngs  began  to  pour 
into  the  buildings  soon  after  dinner,  and  sat  from  two  to  three 
and  a  half  hours.  While  every  available  space  was  occupied,  the 
people  were  turned  away  by  the  thousands  at  each  place. 

The  NasJiville  Americam,  in  speaking  of  the  memorial  services  at 
the  Jones-Ryman  Auditorium,  said  : 

"No  more  magnificent  tribute  has  ever  been  paid  to  the 
memory  of  any  man,  citizen,  or  soldier,  by  the  people  of 
this  section,  than  the  expression  of  love  and  honor  to  the  life 
and  character  of  Sam  P.  Jones,  which  they  voiced  at  the 
Jones-Ryman  Auditorium  on  Sunday  afternoon.  The  number  who 
came  to  pay  tribute  to  this  great  man  of  God,  to  drop  a  tear  upon 
his  grave,  to  express  a  personal  sympathy  at  his  death,  to  testify 
to  the  great  work  for  min  and  Christ  that  he  had  wrought  upon 
the  people,  was  limited  alone  by  the  capacity  of  the  building  in 
which  the  exercises  were  held. 

"The  meeting  was  called  to  order  and  presided  over  by  Dr.  Allen 
G.  Hall,  moderator  of  the  last  General  Assembly  of  the  Southern 
Presbyterian  Church.  The  invocation  was  offered  by  Rev.  Wm.  T. 
Haggard. 

"Rev.  Lin  Cave,  of  the  Christian  Church,  was  the  first  speaker, 
and  paid  a  tribute  to  Mr.  Jones  as  a  preacher.    He  said  : 

"  'My  heart  prompts  me  to  say  I  speak  to  you  with  feelings  of 

(371) 


372  Sam  P.  Jones. 

emotion.  He  to  whose  memory  we  pay  grateful  and  loving  tribute 
to-day  was  my  friend,  always  ready  to  do  me  a  kindness.  Though 
not  thrown  into  close  social  contact  with  him  as  were  some  of  you, 
I  loved  him  with  a  strong  and  steadfast  affection.  Death  paints 
our  loved  ones  in  softer  and  fairer  colors,  and  brings  us  to  see,  as 
we  did  not  see  before, 

"Their  likeness  to  the  wise  below. 
Their  kindred  with  the  great  of  old." 

"  'And  so  to-day,  with  an  affection  sanctified  and  strengthened  by 
sorrow,  we  appreciate  his  life  and  labors  more  highly  than  while 
he  lived.  I  have  been  asked  to  speak  of  him  as  a  preacher,  and  in 
doing  so  it  is  just  and  safe  to  say  he  stood  among  the  foremost  of 
his  time.  He  was  the  best-known  evangelist  in  this  country,  and 
ranks  with  the  two  or  three  best-known  in  the  world  to-day.  He 
was  wonderfully  endowed  by  God,  and  has  blessed  and  helped  to 
save  more  people  of  all  classes  than  perhaps  any  other  preacher  of 
this  generation.  He  enjoyed  unusual  and  widespread  popularity, 
especially  with  the  common  people,  and  was  greatly  loved.  While 
his  body  was  in  the  Capitol  at  Atlanta  for  a  few  hours,  it  is  esti- 
mated that  fully  thirty  thousand  persons  came  and  looked  on  his 
face.  If  all  who  had  been  cheered,  blessed  and  led  by  him  to  a 
better  life  could  have  followed  his  body  to  the  grave,  the  cortege 
would  have  been  one  of  the  largest  ever  seen  on  such  an  occasion. 
It  is  justly  claimed  that  to  be  a  useful  preacher,  one  must  have 
piety,  natural  gifts  and  skill.  By  this  measurement  Sam  Jones  was 
one  of  the  greatest  and  most  useful  preachers  of  any  age.  He  was 
a  good  man,  pure  in  heart  and  life,  rich  in  natural  gifts  and  unex- 
celled in  skill  and  tact  in  the  use  of  them.  He  was  in  no  sense  a 
theologian;  he  rather  hated  theology.  He  cared  little  or  nothing 
for  creeds  and  the  doctrines  of  men,  but  he  loved  Christ  and 
Christianity.  Theolog}^,  he  said,  v:a.3  man-made.  Christianity  was 
of  God.  If  I  misrepresent  Him,  my  brethren,  call  me  down,  for  I 
have  no  desire  to  do  Him  any  injnsn'ce.  This  enlarged  his  useful- 
ness and  gave  him  such  great  power,  far  greater  than  I  can  fully 
describe.     Let  me  give,  instead,  the  estin^ate  of  a  leading  secular 


Sam  p.  JonivS.  373 

journalist  written  some  years  ago:  "If  we  were  asked  to  analyze 
the  power  of  Sam  Jones  we  would  say  that  the  chief  elements  are 
clear  mental  vision,  fearless  soul,  kind  heart,  and  unbridled,  witty 
tongue.  His  good  eyes  enable  him  to  see  the  world  just  as  it  is — 
its  sad  things,  its  funny  things,  its  sham  things,  its  brutal  things, 
its  terrible  things,  its  beautiful  things.  His  fearless  soul  leads  him 
to  describe  what  he  sees,  and  the  immense  force  of  truth  and  realism 
becomes  his  ally.  His  kind  heart  enables  him  to  denounce,  yet  not 
drive  away;  to  chastise,  yet  love;  to  punish,  yet  win  the  culprit. 
His  want  of  reverence  for  others,  their  ways  of  speech  and  of  life, 
unchains  him  from  the  shackles  of  cant,  custom,  routine,  and  con- 
ventionality. It  frees  him  from  imitation.  He  thus  gets  room  for 
his  own  individuality  to  grow,  his  foundation  to  play.  Being  freed 
entirely  from  the  chains  which  enslave  so  many  thousands  of  public 
men,  his  genius  shines  like  a  star — inexhaustible,  radiant."  There 
never  was  but  one  Sam  Jones.  In  speaking  further  of  his  great  suc- 
cess and  his  influence  as  a  preacher,  I  wish  to  say  he  was  abso- 
lutely fearless,  a  man  of  both  moral  and  physical  courage.  He 
was  ready  at  any  time,  and  in  any  presence,  to  say  what  he  be- 
lieved God  wished  him  to  say,  and  he  would  have  said  it  in  front 
of  the  cannon's  mouth  had  he  known  that  while  speaking  his  body 
would  be  blown  to  atoms.  I  think  we  may  apply  to  him  the  famous 
eulogy  of  Regent  Murray  at  the  grave  of  John  Knox,  "There  lies 
he,  who  never  feared  the  face  of  man.''  He  was  at  the  same 
time  very  humble.  Notv/ithstanding  his  widespread  popularity 
and  vast  personal  influence  he  had  the  spirit  of  humility,  and  was 
always  ready  to  yield  his  place  if  there  was  any  one  who  could  do 
better  than  himself.  Again,  as  a  preacher,  he  was  intensely  prac- 
tical and  used  present  conditions  and  occasions  with  wonderful 
effect.  He  was  thoroughly  earnest.  Abrupt,  terse,  vehement,  fiery 
in  style,  his  simple  sentences  at  times  were  flashes  of  lightning  in 
a  dark  night,  his  words  volcanic  explosions  from  a  fire  long  burn- 
ing within,  and  all  who  heard  them  always  felt  their  tremendous 
power.  Some  one  who  has  drawn  a  distinction  between  Cicero  and 
Demosthenes  says  when  the  former  spoke  people  said,  "How  well 
Cicero  speaks,"  while,  when  Demosthenes  spoke,  they  said,  "Let  us 


374  Sam  P.  Jones. 

go  against  Philip."  We  may  draw  the  same  distinction  between 
him  and  many  other  preachers.  When  people  hear  them  they  say, 
"How  well  they  speak,"  but  when  they  heard  him  they  were  aroused 
and  moved  to  say,  "Let  us  go  and  fight  the  devil  and  all  forms  of 
sin."  I  have  heard  him  at  times  in  pathetic  exhortation  show  such 
bursts  of  passionate  grief  for  lost  souls  that  men  who  had  been  un- 
touched and  unmoved  by  others  were  made  to  tremble  and  weep  as 
children.  Finally,  he  was  loving  and  full  of  sympathy  for  lost  hu- 
manity, and  all  mankind.  To  strike  and  spare  not,  was  the  motto 
with  which  he  faced  the  sinner.  To  help  and  rescue,  was  the  sec- 
ond motto  which  redeemed  the  fearless  first.  He  was  as  swift  to 
succor  as  he  was  to  smite.  He  was  as  tender  in  healing  as  he  was 
terrible  in  arousement.  He  was  full  of  the  milk  of  human  kind- 
ness, and  was  the  enemy  of  no  man.  He  loved  God  and  his  fellow- 
men,  and  those  who  abused  him  most  bitterly  will  find  out  some 
day  that  he  was  their  real  friend,  and  always  aimed  to  do  them 
good.  Some  have  criticised  him  for  lack  of  refinement  and  his  use 
of  ridicule  and  irony.  Elijah  is  a  striking  example  of  the  use  of 
ridicule  in  sacred  discourse.  He  mocked  the  priests  of  Baal  before 
all  the  people.  Ridicule  was  to  him  a  fair  way  to  expose  the  ab- 
surdity of  idolatry.  All  irreligion  has  aspects  and  elements  that 
are  absurd,  and  it  is  allowable  and  useful  to  show  this  by  irony  and 
ridicule.  In  Proverbs  it  is  condemned  as  folly,  and  depicted  with 
the  keenest  sarcasm,  and  there  are  slight  touches  of  irony  and  scorn 
in  the  epistles  of  Paul.  In  my  estimate  of  him,  I  do  not  forget  the 
well-known  words  of  Cowper  in  his  description  of  the  preacher, 
Paul  would  hear,  approve  and  own.  "He  that  negotiates  between 
God  and  man,  as  God's  ambassador,  the  grand  concerns  of  judg- 
ment and  of  mercy,  should  beware  of  lightness  in  his  speech.  Tis 
pitiful  to  court  a  grin,  when  you  should  woo  a  soul;  to  break  a 
jest  when  pity  would  inspire  pathetic  exhortation."  He  consecrated 
humor,  ridicule  and  wit  as  few,  if  any,  have  ever  been  able  to  do, 
and  tried  always  to  use  them  only  for  God. 

"  'May  God  bless  and  sanctify  this  service  to  the  salvation  of 
every  unsaved  person  here." 

"Following  Dr.  Cave's  tribute,  Dr.  D.  B.  Towner  and  wife,  of 


Sam  p.  Jones.  375 

Chicago,  sang  a  very  sweet  and  effective  duet,  entitled  'He  Knows.' 

"The  next  address  was  deHvered  by  United  States  Senator,  Ed- 
ward W.  Carmack,  who  spoke  of  him  as  'The  Man.'  Senator  Car- 
mack's  loving  eulogy-  is  printed  in  full : 

"  'Ladies  and  Gentlemen :  There  needs  no  excuse  for  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  layman  to  participate  in  the  exercises  of  this  occasion, 
for  Sam  Jones  belonged  to  all  the  people,  and  the  scope  of  his  in- 
fluence was  as  wide  as  the  whole  field  of  human  life  and  activity. 
And  so  I  have  come  to  pay  my  brief  and  simple  tribute  to  the 
memory  of  one  whose  death  is  an  affliction  because  his  life  was  a 
blessing  to  mankind. 

"  'The  world  has  often  made  heroes  of  its  own  worst  enemies, 
has  called  him  greatest  who  has  done  most  to  multiply  its  sorrows, 
has  builded  its  monuments  to  the  destroyers  and  not  to  the  savers 
of  men.  The  time  is  coming  when  men  will  find  some  other  stand- 
ard for  human  greatness  than  genius  linked  with  selfishness  and 
ambition,  when  the  world's  memorials  will  be  wrought  for  those  who 
have  served  it  best.  When  that  time  comes,  few  men  will  have  or 
deserve  a  higher  monument  than  Sam  Jones. 

"  'There  can  be  no  nobler  epitaph  written  above  the  dust  of  any 
man  than  to  say  that  the  world  is  better  for  his  having  lived,  and 
only  the  records  of  eternity  can  reveal  the  magnitude  of  the  work 
that  Sam  Jones  has  done  for  his  fellow  men. 

"  'With  mental  gifts  that  would  have  won  him  distinction  in  any 
field  of  endeavor,  he  chose  to  devote  all  his  powers  to  the  services 
of  his  Master  and  of  mankind.  He  fell,  a  self-devoted  victim  in 
the  midst  of  his  labors.  We  often  say  that  the  days  of  martyrdom, 
when  men  died  by  the  stake,  or  the  fagot,  for  conscience  sake,  have 
passed.  But  Sam  Jones  was  as  truly  a  martyr  as  any  of  old.  His 
own  will  bound  his  limbs  to  the  stake  of  duty  and  his  spirit  kindled 
the  flame  in  which  his  body  was  consumed.  Because  he  had  no  pa- 
tience, no  sympathy,  with  evil,  the  thoughtless  or  malevolent  have 
charged  him  with  a  want  of  charity.  But  he  laid  down  his  life  for 
humanity,  and  "greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this."  It  is  a  strange 
aberration  of  reason  that  finds  a  want  of  love  for  mankind  in  a 
hatred  of  everything  that  is  injurious  to  man.  That  was  the  only 
hatred  that  ever  found  its  way  to  the  heart  of  Sam  Jones. 


376  Sam  P.  Jones. 

"  'There  has  been  much  speculation  as  to  the  secret  of  his  mar- 
velous success  as  an  evangehst.  In  the  early  days  of  his  fame,  it 
was  freely  predicted  that  he  would  prove  a  nine-days'  wonder,  whose 
popularity  would  wane  with  the  novelty  of  his  style;  but,  though 
he  never  changed  his  manner  or  his  methods,  he  steadily  grew  and 
increased  in  power,  and  death  found  him  not  yet  at  the  zenith  of 
his  greatness. 

"  'The  real  secret  of  his  success  lay  in  the  fact  that  Sam  Jones 
the  preacher,  never  effaced  Sam  Jones,  the  man.  He  never  made 
himself  an  intellectual  hermit  whose  mind  lived  apart  from  the 
world  and  busied  itself  only  with  ethical  abstractions.  While  the 
basis  of  his  nature  was  spiritual,  he  was  intensely  practical,  in- 
tensely human.  While  a  careful  reader  of  his  sermons  could  not 
fail  to  see  the  deep  thought  of  a  powerful  mind,  he  prepared  him- 
self for  his  work,  not  so  much  by  secret  meditation  in  the  closet, 
as  by  keen  observation  of  what  was  going  on  in  the  world.  His 
mission  was  that  of  a  wise  and  faithful  commentator  on  the  daily 
doings  of  men.  He  sought  to  enforce  the  lesson  that  to  be  a  good 
Christian  you  must  be  a  good  man,  you  must  lead  a  good  life. 
In  his  phrase,  "Quit  your  meanness,"  he  summed  up  his  conception 
of  practical  repentance.  "Cease  to  do  evil,  learn  to  do  well"  might 
have  been  the  text  for  every  sermon  he  preached;  and  what  was 
evil  and  what  was  good  he  portrayed  with  objective  vividness  of 
treatment  by  illustrations  drawn  from  actual  experience  and  the 
daily  life  of  the  people.  By  direct  and  particular  application,  he 
gave  life  and  meaning  to  general  precepts  and  invested  his  preach- 
ing with  a  human  and  immediate  interest  such  as  no  mere  exegesis 
of  Scripture,  however  learned  and  eloquent,  could  ever  command. 
He  thundered  against  the  actual,  visible  manifestations  of  evil.  He 
held  up  to  the  public  gaze  the  common  vices  of  the  time.  He  waged 
war  not  against  the  devil  in  hell,  but  against  the  devil  in  this  world. 

"  'He  was  often  criticised  for  the  extreme  aggressiveness  of  his 
methods  and  the  severity  of  his  language.  But  Sam  Jones  wrought 
with  a  rare  knowledge  of  human  nature.  To  treat  the  evil-doer 
with  too  great  tenderness  and  respect  often  serves  only  to  flatter  his 
sense  of  self-satisfaction  and  confirm  him  in  his  evil  ways.     Sam 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  377 

Jones  dealt  with  vice  as  a  thing  utterly  detestable,  and  he  would 
admit  no  excuses  for  the  vicious  man.  He  covered  him  with  the  hot 
lava  of  his  scorn,  he  lashed  him  with  ridicule,  he  made  him  mean 
and  contemptible  in  the  sight  of  men.  He  thus  humbled  the  pride 
of  the  evil-doer,  made  him  despicable  in  his  own  eyes,  and  drove 
him  to  reformation  of  his  life  as  the  only  means  of  recovering  his. 
self-respect. 

"  'He  cared  little — perhaps,  too  little, — for  forms  of  doctrine. 
His  theology  was  expressed  in  the  lines, 

"For  modes  of  faith  let  graceless  zealots  fight, 
He  can't  be  wrong  whose  life  is  in  the  right," 

"  'Even  an  avowed  infidel  was  not  so  repulsive  to  him  as  actual 
wickedness.  He  often  said  that  the  horns  and  hoofs  belonged  not 
so  much  to  the  theoretical  infidel  as  to  the  man  who  denied  God,  not 
with  his  lips,  but  in  his  life. 

"  'He  once  said  that  a  poor  sermon  with  the  power  of  earnest- 
ness behind  it  was  more  effective  than  the  most  powerful  sermon 
without  the  spirit  of  earnestness.  One  great  secret  of  his  own 
power  as  a  preacher  was  the  intense  earnestness,  the  manifest  sin- 
cerity of  the  man.  All  the  powers  of  his  splendid  intellect  could 
not  have  made  him  the  great  evangelist  he  was  if  his  words  had 
come  cold  from  the  brain  instead  of  hot  from  the  heart. 

"  'In  the  earlier  years  of  his  career  he  was  made  the  target,  not 
only  for  injudicious  criticism,  but  the  calumnies  of  the  vilest  char- 
acter. He  was  not  insensible — no  man  can  be  entirely  so — to  these 
malevolent  attacks,  but  he  bore  them  with  outward  composure  and 
gave  to  slander  its  most  crushing  answer — a  pure,  upright  life. 

"  'He  was  sometimes  criticised  for  overstepping  the  proper  limi- 
tations of  a  preacher's  calling,  and  for  dealing  with  matters  foreign 
to  the  pulpit.  But  Sam  Jones  was  the  man  always  as  well  as  the 
preacher,  and  his  alert  and  active  mind  was  interested  in  everything 
that  concerned  the  welfare  of  man.  These  criticisms  were  doubtless 
sometimes  sincere,  but  for  the  most  part,  these  proceeded  from  men 
whose  way  of  life  would  not  bear  a  particular  application  of  gen- 
eral-precepts.   These  always  prefer  the  kind  of  preacher  who  drones 


3/8  Sam  .  P.  Jones. 

vague  abstractions  to  a  somnolent  congregation  and  deals  with  sin 
in  such  a  way  as  not  to  disturb  the  repose  of  the  sinner.  It  was 
because  he  was  the  reverse  of  this  type  that  Sam  Jones  was  such  a 
power  for  good  in  this  world. 

"  'But  beneath  all  this  bluntness  of  speech  and  manner  was  a 
heart  overflowing  with  love  and  charity.  It  was  because  he  loved 
the  sinner  that  he  hated  sin.  He  but  expressed  his  devotion  to  the 
welfare  of  humanity  in  the  intensity  of  his  loathing  for  the  vices  of 
his  time. 

"  'To  those  who  knew  him,  he  was  a  man  easy  to  love — frank, 
open,  kindly,  "with  malice  towards  none,  with  charity  for  all."  To 
those  who  did  not  know  him  thus,  we  only  need  to  point  to  the 
fruits  of  his  ministry.  Men  do  not  gather  grapes  of  thorns  nor 
figs  of  thistles.  A  corrupt  tree  can  not  bear  good  fruit.  Only  a 
great  and  good  man — a  man  great  in  his  goodness  and  good  in  his 
greatness — could  have  yielded  to  the  world  so  great  a  harvest.  And 
finall}'-,  if  he  who  saves  a  soul  from  death  covers  a  multitude  of 
sins,  how  trivial,  even  in  the  eye  of  divine  perfection,  must  seem 
the  failings  of  Sam  Jones  wdien  he  appears  at  the  great  bar  encom- 
passed by  a  throng  of  human  souls  rescued  and  redeemed  through 
his  ministry.' 

"Dr.  W.  F.  Tillett,  Dean  of  the  Theological  Department,  Van- 
derbilt  University,  was  the  first  of  the  number  selected  to  make 
three-minute  addresses.  He  said  that  he  was  glad  to  be  permitted 
to  bring  a  rose  from  Vanderbilt  and  lay  it  on  the  grave  of  this 
great  man. 

"  'As  I  sought  the  character  and  work  of  him  we  loved  to  call 
Sam  Jones,  it  seems  to  me  it  was  he  who  struck  the  point  where 
our  modern  civilization  needed  attention.  He  touched  the  greatest 
blot  in  our  modern  life,  intemperance  and  the  gambling-dens.  Is 
there  a  work  that  our  reformers  could  do,  that  would  be  greater  than 
eliminating  these  evils  ?  That  strong  and  mighty  sentiment  against 
the  open  saloon  that  is  growing  greater  every  day,  is  due  in  no 
small  degree  to  the  work  of  our  friend  and  brother.  This  was 
one  of  his  greatest  works,  and  I  believe  it  wall  survive. 

"  'I  rejoice  to  be  able  to  say  that  the  man  to  whom  we  pay  honor 


Sam  p.  Jones.  379 

never  delivered  a  message  that  the  audience  could  not  say  that  be- 
hind his  eloquent  sermon  was  a  pure  Christian  life.  While  many 
times  I  grant  he  called  forth  a  laugh  at  the  expense  of  education 
and  theology,  but  if  I  had  a  boy  at  Vanderbilt  University  struggling 
to  get  an  education,  and  I  had  only  to  mention  the  fact  to  Sam 
Jones,  he  furnished  the  necessary  money  to  educate  that  boy.  When 
all  things  are  considered,  Brother  Jones  must  be  pronounced  one  of 
the  most  remarkable,  original  and  gifted  men  that  Methodism  has 
ever  produced.  We  may  write  his  epitaph  "He  purchased  deathless- 
ness  with  death." 

"The  next  three-minute  address  was  delivered  by  Professor  J.  J. 
Keys,  of  the  Nashville  High  School.    He  said : 

"  'The  secret  of  Sam  Jones's  great  power  was  his  love  for  hu- 
manity. He  did  not  have  to  tell  you  that  he  loved  you.  It  was 
not  necessary.  He  made  you  see  yourself  as  you  really  were.  I 
first  heard  of  him  twenty  years  ago  in  Michigan,  when  a  newsboy 
passed  through  a  train  selling  copies  of  his  sermons.  I  devoured  the 
book  at  one  sitting;  little  did  I  dream  then  that  some  day  I  would  be 
called  upon  to  take  part  in  a  great  service  like  this  in  his  memory. 
Let  us  send  up  a  prayer  of  thanksgiving  that  it  was  our  blessed 
privilege  to  sit  at  the  feet  of  this  great  man  and  through  him  learn 
the  way  of  life.' 

"Professor  J.  W.  Brister,  of  Peabody  College  for  Teachers, 
made  the  next  brief  address  : 

"  'The  whole  nation,  especially  the  South,  mourns  his  loss.  Nash- 
ville grieves,  and  rightly  so,  as  over  the  departure  of  an  own  son. 
For  here  he  did  some  of  his  most  notable  preaching,  and  here  he 
scored  many  of  his  greatest  triumphs. 

"  'From  that  first  great  meeting  held  yonder  on  Broad  Street, 
twenty-one  years  ago,  his  friends  multiplied,  and  his  service  and 
its  benefits  to  our  city  increased  with  cumulative  effect. 

"  'Hardly  a  home  in  all  the  community  but  has  indirectly  felt 
the  influence  of  the  mighty  work  he  here  wrought;  and  thousands 
of  them  have  been  directly  benefited  and  blessed.  Hardly  a  church 
in  all  the  section  but  numbers  among  its  members  one  or  more 
Sam  Jones  converts,  and  in  many  churches  they  may  be  counted  by 


380  Sam  P.  Jones. 

the  score.  And  these  converts,  many  of  them,  stand  in  the  fore- 
front of  Nashville's  religious  leaders,  faithful  in  building  up  and 
strengthening  the  church,  ready  and  zealous  in  every  charitable 
work,  powerful  in  every  movement  for  civic  reform. 

"  'Nashville  owes  him  an  incalculable  debt.  At  her  hands  he 
deserves  all  honor  and  praise.  This  splendid  auditorium  ought  to 
be  rechristened  the  Jones-Ryman  Tabernacle ;  and  on  either  side  of 
the  great  organ,  some  day  to  be  installed,  ought  to  be  placed  a  life- 
size  statue — one  of  Sam  Jones,  who  inspired  the  building ;  the  other 
of  Tom  Ryman,  his  follower,  who  labored  with  unflagging  zeal  and 
invincible  faith  towards  its  erection.' 

"The  last  of  these  short  speeches  was  made  by  Hon,  John  Bell 
Keeble,  of  the  Nashville  Bar.  While  it  was  very  brief,  it  was  one 
of  the  most  appropriate  speeches  of  the  afternoon.  He  said  that 
'the  common  belief  that  the  day  of  oratory  was  passed,  is  a  fallacy. 
The  spoken  word  was  one  of  the  most  potent  powers  for  good,  and 
would  always  be.  God  has  always  used  the  voice  of  man  to  effect 
His  work  on  earth.  John  the  Baptist,  Paul,  Jesus  Christ  were  all 
great  orators.  Sam  Jones  had  the  brain,  the  heart,  the  wit,  humor 
and  pathos  that  set  fire  to  the  words  that  went  from  his  month. 
His  eloquence  opened  the  doors  of  men's  money-safes,  and  caused 
them  to  turn  loose  their  money  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  belief 
of  men.  The  best  of  all,  this  man  never  prostituted  his  gifts  of 
oratory,  but  used  them  to  bring  men  to  God,  to  revitalize  their  lives, 
to  show  them  the  cross  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  so  portray  Him  as  to 
cause  men  and  women  to  yield  to  Him  their  services  and  dedicate 
their  lives  to  His  cause.' 

"After  these  brief  addresses,  Mr.  Charles  Butler,  soloist  in  the 
Torrey-Alexander  meetings,  sang  'The  Glory  Song.'  A  number  ot 
persons  who  had  been  converted  under  Mr.  Jones's  ministry  in  Nash- 
ville made  one-minute  talks,  while  many  stood  in  all  parts  of  the 
building  testifying  in  that  way  the  appreciation  of  the  man  who  had 
led  them  to  the  Savior. 

"The  last  address  was  delivered  by  Rev.  Walt  Holcomb,  of  Nash- 
ville, who  was  with  Mr,  Jones  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Mr.  Hol- 
comb spoke  on  'His  Last  Days'  as  follows : 


REV.  WALT  HOLCOMR. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  381 

"  'Mr.  Chairman  and  Friends  of  Brother  Jones :  From  Carters- 
ville  I  bring  the  love  of  the  bereaved  family,  to  the  thousands  of 
friends  of  our  glorified  brother,  who  are  gathered  this  afternoon  to 
pay  honor  to  the  memory  of  the  truest  friend  Nashville  ever  had. 
[Turning  to  Bishop  Fitzgerald.]  And  to  you,  my  dear  Bishop  Fitz- 
gerald, Mrs.  Jones  sent  special  love  because  of  your  great  love  for 
her  late  husband.  Of  all  the  cities  where  Mr.  Jones  labored,  there 
was  none  other  that  he  visited  so  frequently,  and  spoke  with  deeper 
solicitude  and  more  tender  affection.  He  loved  Nashville.  When 
I  look  upon  this  sea  of  faces  and  follow  the  hundreds  who  were 
turned  away,  and  have  watched  you  sitting  here  for  nearly  three 
hours,  I  feel  sure  no  city  loved  him  better,  and  has  suffered  a  greater 
loss  at  his  untimely  death. 

"  'I  have  been  asked  by  your  committee  to  speak  on  "His  Last 
Days."  It  was  during  his  latter  days  that  I  knew  him  personally. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  first  time  I  met  him.  It  was  at  Charlotte, 
N.  C.  I  was  in  the  Southern  station  waiting  for  a  train.  I  heard 
a  conversation  going  on  between  a  telegraph-operator  and  the  man 
who  was  sending  the  message.  After  the  operator  had  counted 
the  words  and  looked  at  the  signature,  he  threw  up  his  eyes  and 
said,  "Is  this  Mr.  Sam  Jones  ?"  "Yes,  sir,"  he  replied,  "that's  my 
forgiven  name.  How  much  do  I  owe  you?"  "Weh,"  said  the 
operator,  "you  don't  owe  me  anything.  You  can't  pay  for  a  tele- 
gram that  I  send."  I  walked  up  to  him,  extending  my  hand  and 
giving  my  name,  and  called  attention  to  a  Bible  conference  that  I 
was  connected  with  at  Montreat,  N.  C.  He  looked  at  me  from  head 
to  foot,  as  if  he  were  sizing  me  up,  as  much  as  to  say,  "Kid,  where 
were  you  jumped  up,  anyway?"  I  tried  to  explain  to  him  our  con- 
ference, while  showing  him  the  announcements.  He  said,  "Well, 
thank  you,  but  I  can  read."  Then  he  gave  me  a  hearty  grasp  of 
the  hand  and  an  earnest  "God  bless  you,"  and  boarded  the  train  for 
home.    That  day  I  was  drawn  to  his  kindly  heart. 

"  'A  few  months  later  he  went  to  Wilkesboro,  N.  C,  for  a  re- 
vival meeting.  On  Thursday  before  the  meeting  began  on  Sunday, 
I  received  a  note  for  him,  in  which  he  said,  "I  can  not  go  to  Wilkes- 
boro before  next  Monday.     I  want  you  to  go  up  Saturday  and 


382  Sam  P.  Jones. 

'hold  the  fort'  until  I  come."  Saturday  I  went  to  Wilkesboro,  and 
along  the  way  people  from  towns  and  the  surrounding  country 
were  at  the  depots  to  get  a  peep  at  the  great  Georgia  preacher. 
Sunday  morning  came,  and  the  large  tent  was  crowded  with  people 
to  hear  him  preach.  I  preached  the  best  I  could  to  a  disappointed 
audience.  From  then  till  preaching  to  his  last  audience  in  Okla- 
homa City,  I  never  refused  a  request  he  made  of  me.  Mr.  Jones 
always  looked  upon  that  meeting  as  the  most  marvelous,  next  to 
the  memorable  meeting  he  held  here,  twenty-one  years  ago.  The 
liquor  traffic  was  so  entrenched  in  the  county  that  its  grip  upon  the 
people  was  something  appalling.  He  pitched  into  that  infernal  busi- 
ness, and  at  the  close  of  the  meeting  Wilkesboro  was  practically  a 
temperance  town,  and  Wilkes  county,  a  temperance  county.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  last  service.  Business  had  suspended,  peo- 
ple were  there  from  far  and  near,  and  Mr.  Jones  took  for 
his  text,  'Xord,  what  wait  I  for?"  He  took  up  the  sinner  and 
discussed  the  various  excuses  that  they  offer  for  not  becoming 
Christians.  Such  sarcasm,  invective,  ridicule,  I  never  heard  in  all 
my  life.  Such  wit  and  humor  was  never  crowded  into  an  hour;  and, 
when  he  finished  preaching,  he  had  literally,  by  the  help  of  the 
good  Spirit,  ridiculed  and  laughed  them  out  of  their  sins.  When 
the  invitation  was  extended  they  ran  over  each  other  to  get  to  the 
altar.  I  shall  never  forget  his  radiant  face.  He  had  been  sick, 
weary  and  worn  for  months.  He  said,  '*I  am  a  dying  man."  But 
that  morning  heaven  and  earth  seemed  to  meet,  and  he  clapped 
his  hands  and  stamped  his  foot,  and  with  the  tears  streaming  down 
his  cheeks,  exclaimed,  "Thank  God  for  a  scene  like  this;  there  hasn't 
been  such  a  happy  soul  in  my  body  in  the  last  twenty  years." 

"  'One  of  Mv.  Jones's  favorite  texts  was  "I  have  fought  a  good 
fight ;  I  have  kept  the  faith ;  I  have  finished  my  course ;  henceforth 
there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of  righteousness."  He  was  a  real 
Christian  soldier,  and  fought  the  battles  of  life  more  manfully  than 
any  one  whom  I  have  ever  known.  His  faith  was  as  simple  and 
mighty  as  that  of  a  little  child,  and  it  was  lost  in  the  personality 
of  Jesus  Christ.  None  ever  entered  the  Christian  race  who  kept  his 
eyes  more  fully  upon  the  goal  and  strove- harder  to  win  the  crown. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  383 

No  man  ever  lived  who  tried  harder  to  get  to  heaven.  His  home- 
going  must  have  been  as  happy  as  a  schoolboy  running  home.  A 
friend  had  this  dream  the  night  before  his  death.  He  dreamed 
that  he  was  in  heaven  with  Mr.  Jones.  He  saw  him  standing  in 
one  of  his  characteristic  attitudes  near  the  pearly  gate,  with  one 
of  his  expressive  and  significant  smiles  covering  his  face,  shouting, 
"I  got  here  at  last;  I  pulled  some  of  the  steepest  hills  of  any  man 
that  ever  reached  the  gates  of  pearl,  and  by  the  good  Lord's  reach- 
ing down  and  snatching  me  away,  I  was  saved  from  pulling  steeper 
ones." 

"  'When  I  think  how  the  devil  tried  to  ruin  his  young  life ;  how 
he  tried  to  cripple  him  in  his  ministry;  how  he  tried  to  defeat  him 
in  the  end,  and  had  he  succeeded,  what  a  victory  it  would  have  been 
for  the  devil  and  his  kingdom,  there  comes  to  my  heart  peace  and 
joy  that  lift  me  above  the  indescribable  sorrow  and  peculiar  grief 
I  have  felt. 

"  *A  prominent  citizen  of  his  town  said  to  me,  "I  had  just  fin- 
ished reading  Mr.  Jones's  last  letter  in  the  Journal,  written  from 
Oklahoma  City,  in  which  he  5aid  how  he  was  fighting  the  world,  the 
flesh  and  the  devil,  when  the  telegram  announcing  his  death  was 
received.  While  my  heart  was  aching,  I  couldn't  refrain  from 
shouting  'Glory  to  God,  he  has  quit  fighting  the  devil  and  gone  to 
playing  with  the  angels.'  " 

"  'Last  Monday  m.orning,  on  a  Rock  Island  train  from  Okla- 
homa City,  just  fifty-two  miles  beyond  Little  Rock,  Ark.,  we  were 
blockaded  by  a  freight  wreck.  This  was  about  four  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  Mr.  Jones  arose  and  dressed  about  half-past  five.  He 
sat  and  talked  to  the  porter  who  wr.s  shining  his  shoes.  Then  suf- 
fering from  nausea,  he  called  to  his  daughter  to  arise  and  hai.  "  °;n 
a  cup  of  water.  While  waiting  for  the  water,  they  were  engc.j^.:d 
in  conversation,  when  suddenly  he  collapsed.  She  called  me,  say- 
ing, "Oh,  Mr.  Holcomb,  hurry  to  papa,  I  believe  he  is  dying."  In 
a  moment  I  was  by  his  side  with  his  hands  in  mine,  drawing  his 
noble  head  to  my  heart,  saying,  "Oh,  Brother  Jones,  what's  the 
matter?"  He  looked  at  me  and  attempted  to  speak,  but  the  words 
died  in  his  throat.     Then  I  realized  that  the  fatal  stroke  had  put 


384  Sam  P.  Jones. 

an  end  to  all  that  was  mortal,  to  the  best  friend  I  ever  had.  His 
noble  wife,  two  of  his  daughters,  Mr.  Dunham  and  myself,  had 
clustered  around,  while  a  serene  and  heavenly  expression  formed 
in  his  face.  Without  a  struggle  he  left  us  as  peacefully  and  quietly 
as  daylight  ever  glided  away  into  eventide.  We  knew  that  his 
white  soul  had  slipped  off  to  a  brighter  world.  Perhaps  God,  in  His 
infinite  mercy,  caused  the  train  to  stop  long  enough  for  His  wearied, 
tired  and  faithful  servant  to  lie  down  and  die. 

"  'Mr.  Jones  lived  on  trains  more  than  any  other  man.  He  loved 
railroads,  steam-engines,  fine  cars  and  Pullmans.  He  loved  the 
railroad  men  from  the  president  of  the  road  down  to  the  humblest 
porter.  Among  the  most  beautiful  illustrations  that  he  used  were 
stories  of  railroad  life  and  scenes.  Next  to  his  beautiful  home,  in 
what  place  could  he  have  passed  away  that  would  have  been  more 
like  home  to  him  ? 

"  'We  watched  over  his  sacred  body  until  we  reached  Little  Rock, 
where  it  was  turned  over  to  the  undertaker.  The  railroad  officials 
of  the  Rock  Island  offered  every  courtesy — even  their  own  private 
cars — to  carry  his  body  and  family  home.  Upon  our  arrival  in 
Memphis,  the  president  of  the  Nashville,  Chattanooga  &  St.  Louis 
Railway  had  a  special  train  at  our  disposal.  All  along  the  way  men 
and  women  stood  around  the  station  with  bleeding  hearts,  moistened 
eyes,  and  uncovered  heads,  paying  a  silent  yet  mighty  tribute  to 
the  man  they  loved  so  well.  Never  was  a  train  pulled  more  gently, 
and  seemed  to  be  on  a  more  sacred  mission  than  the  one  that  took 
him  home. 

"  'Mr.  Jones  has  always  said  that  he  wanted  to  die  "in  the  har- 
ness" ;  that  he  wished  to  follow  the  leadings  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  if,  perchance  he  should  see  fit,  to  lead  him  through  the  hardest- 
fought  battle  of  his  life,  and  after  that,  go  home.  Surely,  this  wish 
was  granted. 

"  'In  speaking  to  me  he  said,  at  the  close  of  the  Oklahom.a  meet- 
ing, "This  last  year  I  have  had  three  of  the  hardest  campaigns  of 
my  life."  He  then  spoke  of  the  arduous  work  in  Cincinnati,  in  his 
last  great  meeting,  when  victory  crowned  his  labors.  Then  he 
spoke  of  the  difficult  campaign  in  Evansville.     Then  in  Oklahoma 


Sam  p.  Jones.  385 

City,  when  he  had  more  to  contend  with,  humanly  speaking,  and 
yet  through  it  all  never  murmured  or  complained,  and  had  over- 
come more  than  ever  before.  The  last  thing  he  said  about  it  was, 
"My  hands  seem  to  be  in  the  mouth  of  a  lion.  I  will  pull  them  out 
as  gracefully  and  manfully  as  I  know  how." 

"  'That  evening  on  the  train  he  was  in  a  very  happy  mood.  For 
several  hours  he  sat  and  talked  with  us.  After  supper  he  spent  an 
hour  or  more  in  conversation  with  some  commercial  men.  He  was 
talking  to  them  about  the  sins  of  men  in  general,  and  said  if  a  man 
had  real  respect  and  love  for  his  mother,  that  he  always  stood  a 
fair  chance  of  reformation,  but  when  a  boy  allowed  the  love  for  a 
good  mother  to  die  out  of  his  heart,  he  was  ordinarily  beyond  the 
reach  of  God's  love.  He  was  preaching  as  earnestly  to  that  hand- 
ful as  he  had  done  a  week  previous  to  one  of  the  largest  audiences 
of  men  that  ever  assembled  in  Oklahoma  City.  Leaving  the  men, 
he  joined  the  family  circle  again,  and  in  a  little  while  kissed  each 
member  good-night. 

"  'His  attention  was  called  to  a  poor  consumptive  with  his  broken- 
hearted wife,  who  were  in  the  day-coach.  He  immediately  called 
the  Pullman  conductor  and  had  them  assigned  a  berth.  He  said, 
rising  to  his  feet,  "Captain,  here  is  the  money  for  the  berth.  H 
that  poor  fellow  should  pay  it  himself,  perhaps  he  wouldn't  have 
anything  left  when  he  reached  Memphis.  So  I'll  pay  it,  and  I'll 
have  something  left  over."  May  I  ask,  "What  had  he  left  over?" 
Before  we  reached  Memphis  he  had  gone  to  his  reward.  Here  is 
what  he  had  left  over:  "For  I  was  an  hungered  and  ye  gave  me 
meat;  I  was  thirsty  and  3^e  gave  me  drink;  I  was  a  stranger,  and 
ye  took  me  in ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  me ;  I  was  sick  and  ye  visited 
me.  Then  shall  the  righteous  answer  him  saying,  Lord,  when  saw 
we  Thee  an  hungered  and  fed  Thee ;  or  thirst}^,  and  gave  Thee  drink ; 
when  saw  we  Thee  a  stranger  and  toOk  Thee  in ;  or  naked  and 
clothed  Thee;  or  when  savr  we  Thee  sick  and  came  unto  Thee;  and 
the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto  them :  Verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these,  my 
brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."     I  had  rather  ]je  called  to 


386  Sam  P.  Jones. 

heaven  after  having  done  a  kindly  deed  Hke  that  than  to  leave  any 
other  finished  work  in  the  world. 

"  'Before  retiring  he  went  to  the  berth  of  the  sick  man,  then  ut- 
tered the  last  words  I  ever  heard  him  speak.  He  bowed  by  the 
berth,  taking  the  man  by  the  hand,  saying:  "I'm  sorry  to  see  you 
suffering  so.  I  am  glad  that  we  found  you,  and  can  serve  you.  I 
hope  you  will  sleep  well  to-night.  If  you  should  need  any  help, 
don't  fail  to  call  me.  I  shall  be  glad  to  come  to  you."  Then  turn- 
ing to  his  wife,  he  said,  "When  we  reach  Memphis,  I'll  see  that  you 
get  transportation  to  your  home." 

"  'After  Mr.  Jones's  death,  I  found  some  money  on  his  person, 
and  recalling  his  last  words  to  her,  I  went  to  the  berth  and  said, 
"Pardon  me,  but  I  heard  Brother  Jones  speak  of  getting  your  trans- 
portation, and  wish  to  know  if  you  have  sufficient  means  to  get 
home.''  The  tears  came  into  her  eyes,  and  she  said,  "That's  one 
thing  that  has  been  troubling  me.  We  haven't  enough  money  to 
get  home."  I  handed  her  the  money,  explaining  that  it  was  Brother 
Jones's,  telling  her  I  would  finish  for  him  his  last  act  of  kindness. 

"  'I  have  related  to  you  my  first  impression  of  him,  and  recounted 
some  of  the  incidents  of  his  last  days.  Now,  I  shall  speak  of  him 
as  a  man  and  preacher,  as  he  appeared  to  me  during  his  last  days. 

"  'In  making  a  sympathetic  study  of  Mr.  Jones,  we  must  consider 
him  first  of  all,  as  a  man.  I  am  proud  of  the  respect  given  the  min- 
istry, because  of  its  high  and  sacred  calling,  but  I  am  prouder  when 
the  world  respects  a  minister,  because  of  the  manhood  that  lies  back 
of  his  profession.  God  never  made  a  bigger  nor  grander  thing 
than  when  He  created  a  man.  I  say  it  reverently.  He  can  not  make 
a  preacher  out  of  anything  but  a  man.  And,  if  I  were  to  start  out 
in  search  for  the  most  manly  man,  I  would  not  stop  until  I  came 
into  the  presence  of  Mr.  Jones.  Taking  him  as  he  daily  lived,  in  all 
the  transactions  of  life,  he  was  the  most  exemplary  character  I  ever 
knew.  To  my  mind,  he  was  the  cleanest,  noblest  and  grandest  spirit 
that  has  lived.  I  never  saw  him  do  a  small  deed ;  never  heard  him 
speak  an  unkind  word,  and  never  heard  him  offer  an  uncharitable 
criticism.  While  his  conviction  of  right  and  wrong  were  the  strong- 
est, his  contempt  for  shams  and  hypocrisies  were  the  keenest,  and 


Sam  p.  Jones.  387 

his  determination  to  do  right  the  most  indomitable;  yet  he  had  tlie 
kindest,  gentlest  and  most  forgiving  heart  that  ever  throbbed  in 
the  bosom  of  man.  When  he  spoke  of  the  people  who  did  not  come 
up  to  his  ideal  of  life,  there  was  always  such  considerateness  and 
tenderness  in  his  criticisms,  that  all  the  sting  was  extracted  from 
his  words.  He  was  as  free  from  sensitiveness  and  jealousy  as  an 
angel.      As  a  man,  I  do  not  hope  to  see  his  like  again.' 

"  'As  a  preacher,  he  was  the  greatest  that  ever  stood  before  an 
American  audience,  and  I  believe  that  he  will  go  down  in  history  as 
one  of  the  greatest  and  most  marvelous  ministers  of  the  gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ.  I  have  heard  his  most  objectionable  utterances,  and  I 
wish  to  say  that  never  for  a  second,  did  the  words  of  the  man  in- 
fluence me,  but  for  God.  There  was  a  peculiar  power  that  he 
wielded  in  his  most  denunciatory  words  that  made  a  man  see  the 
pure  and  the  good,  and  kept  mere  words  from  influencing  the  mind 
for  evil.  I  always  went  away  from  his  preaching  and  lecturing  loving 
God  better,  with  the  Bible  more  real  and  precious  to  my  heart,  and 
with  a  svv^eeter  and  truer  love  for  mother  and  home. 

"  'His  great  gifts  in  speaking  were  wit,  humor,  sarcasm,  pathos, 
all  under  marvelous  control,  and  completely  concentrated  upon  the 
effect  that  he  wished  to  produce.  Never  was  there  a  day  that  he  did 
not  create  smiles  and  drive  away  the  burden  from  the  hearts  of  his 
fellow  men.  He  started  waves  of  laughter  and  merriment  that  en- 
circled our  nation.  His  pathos  was  the  rarest  and  sublimest  ever 
given  to  man.  It  was  never  more  in  evidence  than  the  last  night 
he  preached,  in  which  he  said,  "How  I  would  like  to  go  to  heaven." 
The  entire  audience  wept  like  broken-hearted  children.  His  sar- 
casm and  invectives  were  of  such  keenness  and  sharpness  that  no  sur- 
geon's knife  has  ever  served  him  better  than  these  weapons  served 
him.  His  oratory,  unlike  that  of  other  men,  will  go  down  in  history 
as  the  cleverest,  most  winsome  and  powerful  of  any  man  living  or 
dead.  From  generation  to  generation  his  unique  and  matchless 
words  will  be  handed  down  in  private  conversation,  and  it  will  re- 
quire no  printed  page  to  preserve  them.  They  will  be  repeated 
again  and  again  by  those  that  are  to  follow  us. 

"  'The   great   audiences   that   attended   his    ministry    for   nearly 


388  Sam  P.  Jones. 

thirty-five  years  outnumbered  those  addressed  by  any  man  since  the 
world  began. 

"  'At  a  Western  Chautauqua  he  dropped  in  to  spend  a  short  while 
with  his  family.  When  it  was  noised  abroad  that  he  was  on  the' 
ground,  there  was  a  general  request  that  he  preach.  The  director 
of  the  Conference  arranged  the  program  so  as  to  give  the  people  an 
opportunity  to  hear  him.  He  was  tired  and  worn  out  from  a  long 
lecture  tour,  and  refused  to  speak  in  the  open  air  at  the  Hillside 
meeting.  Finally  the  rain  drove  the  people  into  the  auditorium,  and 
he  was  asked  to  address  them  there.  The  Rev.  John  McNeil,  the 
distinguished  Scotchman,  had  been  announced  for  the  eight  o'clock 
hour.  Mr.  Jones  preceded  him,  with  the  understanding  that  he 
should  speak  as  long  as  he  felt  impressed  to.  Dr.  McNiel  stand- 
ing in  the  rear  of  the  building  while  Mr,  Jones  was  swaying  the 
great  audience.  The  Scotchman  seemed  to  forget  that  his  time  was 
being  encroached  upon,  and  was  watching  the  performance  and 
the  scene  with  the  greatest  pleasure  and  delight.  Just  before  nine 
o'clock  he  walked  up  on  the  platform,  and  instead  of  being  angry, 
as  some  preachers  would  have  been,  he  spoke  in  the  most  extravagant 
terms  of  Mr.  Jones's  address.  He  said  in  substance :  "I  have  crossed 
the  Atlantic,  and  returned  to  my  Scotch  people  many  times,"  and, 
then,  looking  at  a  thousand  or  more  prominent  ministers,  gathered 
from  the  leading  cities  of  the  United  States,  he  said :  "Not  once 
have  my  people  asked  about  any  of  you  men,  but  they  have  always 
asked  'Did  you  see  or  hear  Sam  Jones  while  in  the  States?'  I  shall 
take  great  pleasure  upon  my  return  in  telling  them  that  such  an  op- 
portunity had  been  given  me."  After  reading  the  thoughts  of  many 
before  him,  he  said :  "Now,  you  preachers  will  say  that  anybody 
can  talk  like  Sam  Jones.  Well,"  replied  McNeil,  "I  would  advise 
you  to  try  it;  if  you  have  anything  up  your  sleeves  that  will  draw 
the  crowds,  hold  them,  and  move  them,  as  this  man  does,  you  begin 
at  once.  Whatever  you  have  up  your  sleeve,  shake  it  down  next 
time  you  appear  before  your  people."  The  great  "Scotch  Spurgeon," 
as  he  is  known  in  tbc:  old  country,  realized  that  behind  the  wonderful 
things  that  Mr.  Jones  had  said  was  a  strong  will,  a  big  heart,  a 
ponderous  brain,  and  a  powerful  personality,  consecrated  to  God, 


Sam  p.  Jones.  389 

with  the  anointing  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  accounted  for  the 
wonderful  power  that  he  had  wielded  over  the  audience. 

"  *In  all  of  his  ministry  and  work  he  had  encountered  many  critics. 
Some  of  them  were  really  jealous  of  him,  which  was  back  of  every 
fault  they  found  in  him.  Others  were  too  fastidious  in  this  day  of 
great  wickedness,  in  high  and  low  places ;  however,  during  his  long 
ministry  most  of  them  changed  their  minds.  Perhaps  nine-tenths  of 
them  passed  away  before  he  died.  The  other  tenth  has  been  con- 
verted in  his  death. 

"  'Last  fall  in  the  Cincinnati  meeting  a  prominent  minister  left 
the  great  Alusic  Hall  in  company  with  an  unsaved  man.  As  they 
walked  down  the  street,  the  preacher  was  critcising  Mr.  Jones  un- 
mercifully; the  sinner  was  silent.  They  came  to  the  parting  of 
their  way ;  the  unconverted  man  took  the  minister  by  the  hand  and 
said :  "It  seems  that  the  sermon  didn't  affect  you  like  it  did  me.  All 
the  time  he  was  preaching  I  felt  that  I  was  the  meanest  sinner  that 
ever  lived,  and  realized  that  if  God  didn't  help  me  that  I  was  lost 
for  both  worlds."  On  the  way  home  the  minister  asked  himself  the 
question :  "How  much  of  my  preaching  would  it  take  to  make  a 
man  feel  that  way?"  The  more  he  thought  about  it  the  more  he 
became  convinced  that  Mr.  Jones  was  right  and  that  he  was  wrong. 
I  noticed  in  the  Cincinnati  Tunes-Star  that  he  makes  a  manly  con- 
fession of  his  mistake,  and  writes  a  beautiful  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  Mr.  Jones.  '    . 

"  'I  feel  that  I  have  lost  the  truest,  noblest  and  best  friend  I  ever 
had.  To  say  I  loved  him,  expresses  it  mildly.  God  only  knows 
how  his  love  and  interest  in  me  and  my  work  have  helped  and 
strengthened  me.  His  memory  will  ever  be  fresh,  sacred  and  sweet 
to  my  heart.  I  am  a  better  man  for  having  known  him  and  gone 
with  him  through  sunshine  and  shadow.  May  his  great  mantle 
fall  upon  a  thousand  ministers  of  the  gospel.  God's  richest,  sweetest 
and  best  blessing  be  upon  his  precious  wife,  and  the  children  that 
were  dearer  to  him  than  life.  In  the  language  of  another,  I  would 
reverently  say : 


390  ,  Sam  P.  Jones.  ' 

"Sleep  on  beloved,  and  take  thy  rest, 
Lay  down  thy  head  upon  thy  Savior's  breast, 
We  loved  thee  well,  but  Jesus  loved  thee  best; 
Good-night;    good-night;    good-night." 

''Dr.  R.  A.  Torry,  who  was  conducting  evangelistic  services  in 
the  city,  closed  the  memorial  services  with  an  earnest  appeal  to  the 
unconverted  to  come  to  Christ.  He  said :  'It  was  my  privilege  to 
speak  the  closing  words  at  a  memorial  service  in  Northfield,  Mass., 
of  the  late  Dwight  L.  Moody.  It  is  now  my  privilege  to  speak  the 
closing  words  at  the  memorial  service  of  another  great  evangelist. 
Sam  Jones  is  now  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  saying  to  all  the 
unsaved  of  Nashville,  "Come  over  here." 

"  'While  thousands  in  this  city  yielded  to  his  appeals  during  his 
ministry,  there  are  others  who  resisted  his  tender  entreaties,  but 
now  his  voice  is  calling  louder  than  it  ever  did  before  in  this  taber- 
nacle. I  don't  believe  that  Mr.  Jones  would  feel  that  this  service  was 
complete  unless  an  opportunity  was  given  to  accept  Christ,  and  I 
am  going  to  ask  those  of  you  who  will  become  Christians  to  rise  to 
your  feet.'  Quite  a  number  arose,  and  then  Dr.  Hall  asked  Bishop 
O.  P.  Fitzgerald  to  pronounce  the  benediction." 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

(Memorial  Services — Continued.) 


The  Memoriae  Service  at  the  Auditorium,  Chattanooga. 

The  citizens  of  Chattanooga  have  always  claimed  that  there  was 
no  city  in  which  Mr.  Jones  and  his  work  were  held  in  higher  esteem 
than  Chattanooga.  He  had  conducted  several  meetings  there,  and 
had  appeared  frequently  on  the  lecture  platform.  The- Chattanooga 
papers  had  a  great  deal  to  say  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  the  peo- 
ple were  very  generous  in  their  words  of  expression  and  love.  It 
was  soon  suggested  that  a  great  memorial  service  be  held  in  the 
Auditorium,  October  21st.  The  many  friends  and  admirers  of  Mr. 
Jones  carried  out  the  suggestion  and  arranged  for  the  service. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  great  crowds  were  seen  going  towards  the 
Auditorium,  and  before  the  hour  appointed  for  service  people  were 
being  turned  back  by  the  hundreds.  The  great  Auditorium  was  too 
small  for  the  audience  who  came  to  participate  in  the  service.  It 
was  an  audience  made  up  of  distinguished  citizens,  lawyers,  physi- 
cians, politicians,  bankers  and  business  men  The  audience  was  also 
composed  of  the  clergymen  and  Christian  laity  of  the  different  de- 
nominations. The  platform  was  crowded  with  the  pastors  and 
choirs  of  the  city. 

The  opening  song  was  "Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee,"  led  by  Mr.  E. 
O.  Excell,  of  Chicago,  who  was  Mr.  Jones's  chorister  for  twenty 
years,  and  was  w^ith  him  in  the  last  meeting  he  held.  The  great 
audience  joined  reverently  in  singing  the  grand  old  song.  This  was 
followed  by  a  duet,  sung  by  Mr.  E.  O.  Excell  and  Mr.  Oscar  Seagle. 
The  song  was  written  by  Mr.  Excell,  and  entitled  "I  am  Happy  in 
Him."  This  was  followed  by  a  prayer,  when  Mr.  Seagle  sang  "The 
Ninety  and  Nine."     Mr.  Seagle  sang  this  song  a  number  of  times 

(391) 


392  Sam  P.  Jones. 

in  Mr.  Jones's  great  evangelistic  meetings,  and  it  was  one  of  his  fa- 
vorite songs.  Dr.  J.  S.  French,  of  Centenary  Church,  read  a  scrip- 
ture lesson,  which  was  the  last  one  that  Mr.  Jones  read  in  public. 
Mr.  Excell  sang  the  song  that  Mr,  Jones  loved  best,  "The  Good  Old- 
Fashioned  Way." 

There  were  a  number  of  brief  tributes,  but  the  leading  address 
was  made  by  Rev.  Geo.  R.  Stuart.  Mr.  Stuart  was  the  constant 
companion  and  co-worker  of  Mr.  Jones  for  years,  having  gone  from 
the  pastorate  of  the  Centenary  church,  Chattanooga,  to  assist  Mr. 
Jones  in  evangelistic  work.  It  was  very  appropriate  that  he  should 
make  the  principal  address  at  this  service.    He  said : 

"My  friends,  an  occasion  like  this  has  two  objects,  if  properly  ob- 
served; the  first  is  to  pay  proper  respect  to  a  great  character,  the 
second  is  to  bring  to  God  those  who  are  present. 

As  I  come  to  you  this  afternoon  I  feel  that  I  could  not  properly 
represent  the  life  of  this  great  man,  if  the  second  point  were  not 
the  prominent  one.  It  would  be  a  difficult  thing  to  make  the  name 
of  Sam  Jones  any  broader,  to  make  his  life  any  better  known,  or 
to  bring  his  work  forward  in  bolder  type  than  his  life  has  written  it. 

We  have  met  at  this  hour,  in  common  with  other  great  gather- 
ings all  over  this  country,  to  pay  our  tribute  of  respect  and  love  to 
a  really  great  man. 

He  was  great  from  every  side  of  greatness  in  a  preacher.  First, 
he  was  a  good  man.  For  sixteen  years,  I  was  at  his  side;  we 
roomed  together;  we  slept  together;  we  prayed  together;  we 
walked  together;    we  planned  together;    we  traded  together. 

This  is  one  man  whose  heart  and  life  I  know,  and  I  say  to  the 
glory  of  God,  and  to  his  honor,  that  I  write  him  down  in  my  heart 
as  the  cleanest,  truest,  straightest,  best  man  God  ever  permitted 
me  to  know. 

On  this  platform  stands  Prof.  E.  O.  Excell,  of  Chicago,  who  in 
all  these  years  was  with  us,  and  was  even  with  him  before  I  knew 
him  intimately,  and,  as  we  talked  together  the  past  four  days  we 
have  looked  into  each  other's  tearful  eyes  and  said :  "The  greatest 
man  this  country  has  ever  known  has  passed  away."  He  was  a 
good  man;   not  only  good,  but  he  was  great. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  393 

I  have  been  with  him  before  every  class  of  audience  this  country 
affords.  I  have  stood  for  a  month  with  him  in  the  city  of  Boston. 
I  have  stayed  with  him  in  the  great  tabernacles  preaching  to  the 
colored  people  in  the  South.  I  have  stood  with  him  in  the  great 
country  districts  of  our  land.  I  have  stood  with  him  in  every  con- 
ceivable place  almost,  and  heard  him  talk  to  almost  every  conceiv- 
able class  of  people,  and  before  them  all  he  was  marvelously  great. 

The  culture  of  Boston  hung  on  his  lips  like  the  illiterate  colored 
man  of  the  South,  and  he  was  the  minister  of  righteousness  to  all 
alike.  The  Supreme  Judge  sat  side  by  side  with  a  twelve-year-old 
boy  and  their  faces  shone  alike  as  he  preached. 

There  are  three  things  which  make  a  man  great :  His  goodness, 
his  inherent  powers  of  greatness,  and  his  service  to  the  people.  No 
m,an  has  served  his  country  for  God  like  Sam  Jones. 

Standing  by  the  side  of  his  casket  in  the  Capitol  of  Georgia  at 
Atlanta,  I  watched  the  thousands  of  people  pass  by.  I  said  to  a 
man  standing  near :  "Open  your  watch  and  see  how  many  pass  by 
in  a  minute;  I  want  a  correct  record  of  the  people  who  look  upon 
his  face." 

After  he  held  his  watch  a  minute,  I  counted  through  the  period 
and  estimated  that  thirty  thousand  people  looked  upon  his  face  in 
the  few  hours  I  remained  there. 

And  as  they  passed  by,  hurrying  along,  I  looked  at  the  great,  the 
poor,  the  rich,  the  white,  the  colored,  the  little  boy,  the  old  man,  the 
little  girl,  the  old  woman,  the  strong,  the  feeble,  and  as  I  saw  them 
pass  they  wiped  the  tears  from  their  faces,  and  I  said  to  a  man 
standing  beside  me:  "He  preached  marvelously  while  he  lived; 
but  his  cold  lips  preached  to  the  greatest  audience  before  whom  he 
ever  stood." 

He  was  not  accidentally  great;  he  was  great  by  the  facts  and 
qualities  which  make  men  great. 

There  are  four  things  which  make  a  great  preacher;  natural 
gifts,  and  character  to  back  up  these  gifts;  a  gathering  of  these 
gifts  together  and  the  Holy  Ghost  to  make  these  gifts  sufficient. 

Sam  Jones  was  naturally  gifted;  he  had  a  great  mind;  he  was 
a  great  student,  not  of  books,  but  of  men;    of  current  events  and 


394  Sam  P.  Jones. 

moving  social  affairs.  He  was  one  of  the  best-posted  men  on  the 
great  issues  of  this  country  that  the  country  ever  had.  Going  into 
a  great  city,  he  would  stand  up  and  preach  his  two  or  three  sermons 
and  the  people  would  say,  "Who  has  been  talking  to  him?"  and 
they  would  say,  "Who  has  been  reporting  the  situation  to  him?" 

He  could  go  into  a  great  city  and  lay  his  fingers  on  its  pulse,  and, 
like  a  skilled  physician,  tell  the  great  disease  prominent  in  its  social, 
moral  and  civil  life. 

He  knew  the  great  men  of  this  country ;  knew  their  lives ;  knew 
the  great  advances  of  this  country  and  knew  their  trend.  He  knew 
the  great  moral  movements  of  this  country  and  how  they  were  set 
in  motion. 

Never  a  morning  came  that  the  daily  papers  were  not  in  his 
hands,  and  when  he  passed  over  a  paper  you  could  not  call  his  atten- 
tion to  a  movement  in  this  country  he  had  not  studied — a  marvelous 
mind,  studying  the  marvelous  movements  of  the  age  in  which  he 
lived. 

He  was  a  marvelous  judge  of  human  nature;  this  was  not  acci- 
dental. When  God  makes  a  great  man  he  begins  early  to  make 
him. 

A  man  who  accepts  God's  conditions  and  God's  circumstances, 
and  works  out  with  God,  God  crowns  with  greatness  his  efforts. 

He  was  marvelously  endowed  with  natural  wit,  and  humor  bub- 
bled and  sparkled  naturally  with  him.  What  a  marvelous  instru- 
ment it  has  been  to  him ;  how  it  has  attracted  the  people,  and  how, 
attracting  the  people,  he  has  done  honest  work  for  God. 

But  all  of  these  natural  gifts  would  have  been  worth  little  to  that 
man  having  not  been  backed  up  by  a  great  character.  He  had  a 
moral  character  which  stood  like  a  solid  rock — he  was  the  most 
honest  man  I  ever  knew. 

Think  of  him !  In  a  long  life  before  the  people,  with  his  enemies 
digging  him  up  at  every  corner,  there  has  never  been  revealed 
to  the  world  a  solitary  dishonest  act.  And  how  often  he  has  said : 
"A  man  who  throws  as  many  stones  as  I  throw  could  not  live  in  a 
glass  house." 

Think  of  how  the  men  have  dug  at  his  character,  and  dug  at  his 


Sam  p.  Jones.  395 

life.  Where  is  the  man  who  ever  dug  up  a  black  act  connected  with 
him? 

Many  have  criticised  him  because  he  received  large  sums  of 
money,  but,  to  me,  the  disposition  of  the  money  which  has  come 
into  his  hands,  through  all  these  years,  has  been  the  most  mar- 
velous thing  connected  with  the  man. 

He  talked  like  a  bosom  friend  to  me,  as  he  was;  his  life  is  an 
open  book  to  everybody.  Almost  every  step  of  his  life  has  been 
published. 

I  can  say  what  will  surprise  you,  but  I  believe  I  tell  the  honest 
truth  when  I  say  I  don't  believe  he  ever  invested  one  single  dollar 
but  that  he  invested  it  to  help  somebody  else..  He  so  often  preached 
the  doctrine,  too,  that  God  will  take  care  of  those  who  take  care  of 
His  cause,  which  is  singularly  illustrated  in  his  own  life. 

But  God  has  in  a  strange  way  blessed  him.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  liberal,  the  most  charitable  men  I  ever  knew.  No  man  ever 
came  to  him,  in  all  my  acquaintance,  and  reached  out  a  hand  and 
begged  for  help  that  he  did  not  get  it. 

Honest  in  his  transactions,  honest  in  his  dealings  with  God's 
money,  honest  towards  the  world,  honest  in  friendship — no  man 
ever  had  a  truer  friend.  There  was  no  sham,  no  hypocrisy.  I 
never  saw  him  do  a  thing  for  show  in  my  life.  He  was  sincere, 
honest,  and  candid  from  beginning  to  end. 

The  characteristic  that  made  him  the  greatest  of  all,  probably,  was 
his  indomitable  courage.  I  never  saw  him  cower.  I  never  saw  him 
wince.  I  have  sat  with  him  in  the  hotel  when  men  would  come  in 
and  say :  "There  are  a  hundred  armed  men  organized  who  are 
going  to  shoot  at  you  when  you  go  on  the  platform  to-night." 
When  they  were  gone  he  would  look  at  me  and  smile  and  say, 
"They  are  all  scared." 

We  would  get  in  the  carriage  and  drive  out  to  the  tabernacle 
and  he  would  go  in  and  step  out  on  the  platform.  He  would  go 
as  calmly  and  quietly  as  I  ever  knew  a  man,  and  enter  upon  his 
invectives  of  sin;  and,  in  the  very  midst  of  his  terrific  arraign- 
ment, he  would  stop  and  say,  "Now  is  the  time  to  shoot." 

I  have  seen  men  come  in  and  sit  down  in  his  room  and  say, 


396  Sam  P.  Jone^s. 

"Brother  Jones,  it  will  not  do  to  touch  upon  this,  and  that,  and  the 
other  subject  in  this  town;  it  is  so  organized,  so  fortified,  that  to 
stir  it  up  will  ruin  everything."  The  first  time  he  got  on  his  feet 
in  that  town  he  would  put  his  crowbar  under  that  very  thing  and 
turn  it  upside  down, 

I  never  saw  him  stop  a  moment  for  fear  of  public  criticism,  or 
human  opinion  of  what  would  happen.  He  asked  one  question,  and, 
having  answered  it,  he  moved  straight  ahead.  His  question  was, 
"Is  it  right?"  Having  settled  that,  there  was  no  other  question 
for  him  to  answer. 

God  teach  us  a  lesson  from  that. 

But,  with  all  these  characteristics,  Sam  Jones  would  not  have 
been  great  but  for  another — that  was  the  religion  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.     That  is  the  thing  which  made  him  great. 

His  faith  was  as  simple  as  a  child's  faith.  I  never  saw  him  raise 
a  question  about  the  truth  of  the  Bible,  or  the  authenticity  of  the 
Bible,  the  existence  of  God,  or  the  divinity  of  Christ. 

He  walked  upon  these  great  truths,  and  planted  himself.  He 
believed  God  would  rule  and  control. 

Many  a  time,  in  -our  hard-fought  battles,  when  it  looked  to  me  as 
if  everything  was  going  to  burst,  he  would  turn  his  calm  face  to 
mine,  and  say,  "George,  God  still  lives;    He  will  see  us  through." 

I  thank  God  that  I  ever  came  into  contact  with  such  an  humble 
and  simple,  but  marvelous  faith  as  that  man  had.  He  was  conse- 
crated to  his  work. 

I  have  read  his  mail  and  seen  him  turn  his  back  upon  Bureau 
letters,  in  which  there  were  thousands  of  dollars  offered  for  lecture- 
courses,  and  talk  with  a  plain  preacher  from  a  backwoods  district 
and  take  out  his  little  book  and  write  down  the  very  dates  for 
which  the  Bureau  called  and  give  them  to  this  humble  place,  and 
leave  the  preparation  and  remuneration  entirely  to  him. 

In  all  my  years  of  experience  with  him,  I  have  never  known 
him  to  make  financial  conditions,  but  to  one  man,  and  he  always 
regretted  that — the  preacher  said  he  would  not  do  it  in  any  other 
Vv-ay.  They  were  afraid  they  were  going  to  be  robbed  by  him,  I 
suppose,  and  he  let  it  go. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  397 

Brethren,  we  stand  to-day  on  this  platform  to  offer  this  tribute 
to  a  man  who  will  be  greater  fifty  years  from  now,  in  the  minds 
of  the  people,  than  he  is  to-day. 

A  Cartersville  man,  as  he  stood  in  Atlanta  watching  the  great 
throng  passing  by,  whispered  to  me  and  said,  "George,  we  didn't 
know  what  a  great  man  was  living  in  our  town;  he  has  lived  and 
died  before  we  found. out  how  great  he  was." 

This  country  has  not  yet  found  out  how  great  he  was.  He  has 
talked  to  more  people  than  any  other  man  who  ever  lived  in 
America.  There  is  no  man  to-day  who  has  moved  more  people  to 
better  lives  than  he. 

He  has  led  more  people  to  consecration  to  God,  and  reformed 
more  men  in  their  personal  lives,  and  more'  communities  in  their 
civil  and  moral  conditions,  than  any  man  who  ever  spoke  on  the 
American  platform. 

And  I  stand  in  my  place  and  say  to-day,  that  I  do  not  believe 
any  preacher  has  ever  died  in  America  who  is  as  sincerely  and 
broadly  known  as  Sam  Jones. 

As  I  have  passed  up  and  down  this  country,  railroad  men,  mer- 
chants, citizens,  preachers — every  class  of  people  have  gripped  my 
hand  and  almost  invariably  a  tear  would  start  in  their  eyes  and 
they  would  say,  "We  have  lost  a  great  friend  and  a  great  man." 

The  last  thing  I  want  to  say  is  this  :  "I  want  to  thank  God  for  ever 
being  associated  with  a  man  so  honest  through  all  his  life,  so  brave 
in  all  his  conduct,  so  clean  in  all  his  transactions,  so  consecrated  to 
God's  service,  so  simple  in  his  faith,  so  baptized  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  so  marvelously  useful  to  the  cause  of  God  and  humanity. 

This  country  will  never  forget  the  fact  that  Sam  Jones  lived  and 
denounced  every  wrong,  and  stood  for  everything  right.  May  God 
anoint  men  in  this  country  to  be  true,  honest  and  consecrated, 
grave  and  fit  for  the  work  of  God. 

This  one  personal  thing:  I  have  felt  for  four  days  as  if  one  whole 
side  of  my  being  has  been  turned  out.  The  loneliness  has  been 
crushing — just  to  think  that  I  will  never  see  the  man  or  hear  his 
voice  again,  or  put  my  heart  close  up  to  him  again.  What  a  loss 
personally.  And  the  nation  and  the  individual  feels  the  loss  almost 
as  a  personal  friend. 


398  Sam  P.  Jones. 

Let  us  to-day  pledge  God  a  better  life.  Let  us  to-day  in  our  own 
lives  reach  out  towards  something  higher,  so  that  some  bright  day 
we  may  go  to  the  heaven  in  which  he  believed,  and  meet  him,  with 
loved  ones,  in  that  better  country. 

God  help  us." 


CHAPTER  XL. 
(Memorial  Services — Continued.) 


Memorial  Services  in  Atlanta. 

The  Atlanta  people  not  fully  satisfied  with  the  honor  they  had 
conferred  upon  Mr.  Jones,  decided  to  have  a  special  memorial  serv- 
ice for  him.  As  the  Baptist  Tabernacle  was  the  largest  auditorium 
in  Atlanta,  and  where  Mr.  Jones  had  preached  so  many  times  of 
recent  years,  it  was  decided  that  the  service  should  be  held  there. 
The  building  had  already  been  decorated  for  the  homecoming 
of  Dr.  Broughton,  and  while  the  decorations  might  have  been  out 
of  place  for  memorial  services  to  any  other  man,  yet  we  believe  that 
the  brightness  and  cheerfulness  of  the  decorations  would  have 
pleased  Mr.  Jones. 

In  the  centre  of  the  rostrum  was  a  vacant  chair,  just  above  it  a 
life-sized  picture  of  Mr.  Jones.  Just  to  the  right  of  the  pulpit  was 
this  inscription :  "Sam  P.  Jones,  Georgia's  Beloved  Dead."  Aside 
from  this  there  was  no  sign  of  mourning.  There  was  an  outpouring 
of  the  people.  Early  the  building  was  full  to  overflowing,  and  thou- 
sands were  turned  away.  Row  after  row  of  earnest  faces,  young 
and  old,  rich  and  poor,  high  and  low,  with  a  sense  of  the  sacredness 
of  the  hour  listened  attentively  amid  smiles  and  tears,  to  the  words 
of  the  speakers. 

Mr.  William  D.  Upshaw  opened  the  exercises  with  a  very  beauti- 
ful tribute  to  Mr.  Jones,  and  then  turned  the  services  over  to  ex- 
Governor  Northen,  who  presided.  After  prayer  by  Dr.  C.  E.  Dow- 
man,  of  the  First  Methodist  church,  Governor  Northen  spoke  briefly 
of  Mr.  Jones,  saying  he  stood  for  three  things :  First,  for  a  strong 
conviction  of  duty;  second,  for  a  great  purpose  in  life;  and  third,  for 
a  remarkable  individuality.  He  labored  for  God  and  humanity,  said 
the  Governor,  and  labored  in  his  own  individual  way.     He  was  al- 

(399) 


400  Sam  P.  Jones. 

ways  himself  and  never  tried  to  be  anything  but  himself.  He  was 
unique  in  the  service  of  God  and  humanity. 

There  were  brief  addresses  by  Mr.  Reuben  Arnold,  Mr.  J.  K.  Orr, 
Dr.  Chas.  O.  Jones,  Chief  Henry  Jennings,  Dr.  C.  E.  Dowman,  and 
Rev.  Walt.  Holcomb. 

The  service  was  interspersed  with  several  beautiful  gospel  songs, 
which  were  some  of  Mr.  Jones's  favorites.  Mr.  Edwin  R.  Smoot 
sang  "I  Want  to  Go  There" ;  Mr.  Charlie  Tillman  sang,  "Unan- 
swered Yet" ;  and  Messrs.  Tillman  and  Smoot  sang,  "Saved  by 
Grace." 

REMARKS  OF  REUBEN  R.  ARNOED  AT  THE  SAM  JONES  MEMORIAE. 

"Lives  of  great  men  are  the  strongest  lessons  humanity  can  have. 
It  is  for  this  reason  biographies  are  written.  It  is  for  this  reason  we 
scan  with  close  scrutiny  the  birth,  the  environment,  the  growth,  the 
characteristics,  the  successes  and  the  failures  which  mark  the  ca- 
reers of  the  illustrious  dead.  Well  has  it  been  said  that  the  proper 
study  of  mankind  is  man.  The  history  of  the  world,  so  far  as  it 
entertains  or  instructs  us,  is  only  the  history  of  the  human  race. 

"While  it  is  said  that  no  man's  life  can  be  truly  chronicled  until 
the  impartial  hand  of  the  future  historian  lifts  the  veil,  still  it  is  a 
glorious  sentiment  which  calls  us  together  over  the  bier  of  a  departed 
brother  to  discuss  his  virtues  and  glean  from  his  life  its  teachings. 
In  his  life  Sam  Jones  has  been  so  recently  a  part  of  our  country's 
history,  that  under  the  inspiration  of  these  surroundings,  under  the 
spell  of  this  music,  I  feel  that  he  has  burst  the  cerements  of  the  tomb 
to  be  with  us  again. 

"Sam  Jones  was  a  pioneer  in  his  particular  field  of  evangelistic 
work.  No  narrowness  of  creed  held  him  in  its  grip.  His  soul  was 
as  broad  as  the  universe.  No  denomination  could  claim  that  he  be- 
longed peculiarly  to  it.  In  death,  as  in  life,  he  was  the  common 
property  of  us  all,  and  before  he  was  surrendered  back  to  the  earth, 
i:  was  meet  that  his  body  should  lie  in  state  in  the  marble  halls  of 
Georgia's  Capitol,  where  the  people  he  loved  so  well  could  take  a  last 
look  at  his  mortal  remains. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  401 

"Mr.  Jones's  career  shows  the  remarkable  possibiHties  of  American 
life.  The  opportunities  afforded  in  our  republic  bring  out  all  of 
merit  that  there  is  in  ever}^  citizen.  With  no  training  for  the  minis- 
try, Mr.  Jones  rose  to  heights  that  few  men,  bred  to  the  cloth,  can 
ever  hope  to  attain.  As  I  listen  to  the  story  of  his  life,  it  reads  like 
some  dream.  And  his  was  not  a  career  that  shot  up  suddenly,  and 
as  suddenly,  like  a  rocket,  shot  down  again.  He  became  a  fixed  star 
in  the  firmament,  and  his  lustre  grew  brighter  with  the  years. 

"His  career  shows  that  strong  traits  of  character  will  assert  them- 
selves and  break  through  all  environment.  He  began  life  as  a  law- 
yer, but  that  calling  did  not  suit  him.  His  life  as  a  lawyer  ended 
with  a  short  period  of  dissipation.  But  though  dissipated  for  a 
short  season,  Sam  Jones  never  could  have  been  anything  but  a  good 
man.  This  straying  away  before  taking  his  final  step  for  good  made 
him  all  the  stronger  when  he  turned  his  face  towards  the  light.  It 
was  impossible  for  him  to  have  wandered  except  for  a  brief  season. 
The  Arabian  philosophers  applied  to  those  who  were  possessed  of 
mental  vagaries  this  test :  'If  thou  be  such  by  the  will  of  God,  then 
remain  as  thou  art ;  but  if  thou  be  such  as  the  result  of  mere  pass- 
ing conjuration,  then  resume  again  thy  former  shape.'  Sam  Jones 
fairly  rushed  to  his  great  work  for  which  he  was,  above  all  men, 
fitted  by  nature. 

"His  methods  were  not  artificial.  He  talked  in  simple  language, 
as  do  all  great  men.  He  imitated  nobody.  He  realized  the  great 
truth  that  if  a  man  is  to  have  force  it  is  by  being  himself.  He  spoke 
great  truths  in  a  line  which  other  men  would  take  pages  to  cover. 
He  reached  men  whom  the  more  scholarly  could  not  impress.  There 
is  no  calculating  the  good  he  has  done. 

"He  was  absolutely  fearless.  Like  Brutus,  he  was  armed  in  his 
honesty  that  the  threats  of  the  vicious  passed  him  by  as  the  idle 
wind  which  he  heeded  not. 

"And  yet  with  all  the  force,  with  all  his  denunciation  of  crime  and 
vice,  there  was  not  the  slightest  touch  of  bitterness  in  anything  he 
said.  Those  who  differed  with  him,  respected  him.  He  exemplified 
the  great  truth  that  vice  and  sin  are  to  be  denounced,  but  the  poor 

14  j 


402  Sam  P.  Jones. 

erring  mortals  who  succumb  to  them  are  to  be  pitied  and  reformed — 
not  hated  and  driven  further  from  the  path  of  right. 

"He  had  wonderful  balance,  common  sense  and  judgment.  In 
reading  his  newspaper  articles,  I  was  struck  with  his  knowledge  of 
politics,  economics  and  other  material  questions. 

"But  the  crowning  glory  of  Sam  Jones's  method  of  discourse  was 
his  never-failing  sense  of  humor.  It  was  this  power  which  attract- 
ed other  men  and  first  got  their  attention.  He  was  then  enabled  to 
drive  home  his  great  truths. 

"In  conclusion,  let  us  hope  that  long  may  the  memory  of  this 
wonderful  man  live  in  our  country ;  and  I  am  thankful  for  the  priv- 
ilege of  being  able  to  say  a  word  in  praise  of  his  virtues." 

Dr.  Len  G.  Broughton,  pastor  of  the  Tabernacle  Baptist  church, 
made  the  closing  address,  which  is  as  follows : 

"Perhaps  there  is  no  man  in  Atlanta  to-day  who  feels  just  the 
same  kind  of  sorrow  that  I  feel.  Sam  Jones  and  myself  were  very 
intimate  in  our  relations.  I  do  not  know  why  he  should  have  con- 
descended to  be  such  a  close,  personal  friend  to  me,  but  he  never- 
theless was  one  of  the  best  friends  I  ever  had.  Two  years  ago  he 
stood  on  this  very  platform  on  the  occasion  of  a  welcome  service 
arranged  for  me  by  my  people  upon  my  return  from  two  months' 
preaching  engagements  in  London.  Those  of  us  who  were  present 
at  that  time  will  never  forget  his  humorous  and  at  the  same  time 
beautiful  words  welcoming  me  back  to  my  place  and  to  my  people. 

"It  seems  a  bit  strange  that  to-day  being  my  first  service  after  my 
return  from  another  preaching  engagement  in  London  that  I  should 
be  standing  here  speaking  these  words  in  a  memorial  service  to 
him.  It  is  one  of  the  hardest  tasks  that  I  have  ever  had  to  perform. 
I  first  heard  of  his  death  off  Sandy  Hook,  as  my  ship  cast  anchor,  and 
the  pilot  came  on  board  bringing  the  mail.  The  news  was  conveyed 
to  me  by  my  wife.  She  had  just  heard  it,  and  hastened  to  write  me. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  feeling  of  my  heart  as  I  read  the  sad  words : 
'Sam  Jones  is  dead.  He  died  on  the  train  near  Little  Rock,  Ark. 
Sad !  sad !  sad !'  I  went  immediately  to  my  cabin,  shut  the  door 
behind  me,  and  cried  like  a  child.  As  soon  as  I  got  ashore  I  hast- 
ened to  a  telegraph  office  and  telegraphed  his  good  wife,  saying: 


Sam  p.  Jones.  403 

'My  heart  is  with  you  to-day.    I  leave  on  the  next  train  for  home. 
Can  I  serve  you  ?' 

"I  had  no  idea  at  that  time  that  this  memorial  service  in  our  Tab- 
ernacle was  being  arranged,  so  I  telegraphed  my  assistant,  Mr.  E. 
H.  Peacock :  'Arrange  for  Sam  Jones's  memorial  at  the  Tabernacle 
Sunday  night.' 

"As  I  came  along  down  through  the  States  I  got  the  Atlanta 
papers,  and  they  told  me  of  this  memorial  service  which  was  ar- 
ranged to  be  held  this  afternoon,  and  that  I  was  to  be  one  of  the 
speakers.  I  knew  then,  of  course,  that  Mr.  Peacock  would  not 
arrange  for  the  service  at  night ;  that  this  would  do  for  us  all. 

"In  speaking  of  Sam  Jones,  I  wish  to  do  so  under  three  differ- 
ent heads : 

"First,  Sam  Jones  as  I  first  knew  him;  second,  as  I  last  knew 
him;   and,  third,  as  I  shall  know  him. 

"Sam  Jones,  as  I  first  knew  him,  was  a  curiosity.  I  came  in  touch 
with  him  just  after  I  entered  the  ministry.  I  was  attending  a  con- 
vention in  Goldsboro,  N.  C,  and  he  lectured  at  the  opera  house.  He 
gave  his  lecture,  'Get  There  and  Stay  There.'  Well,  to  say  I  was 
impressed  does  not  express  it.  To  me,  as  I  now  remember  him,  he 
was  the  funniest  man  I  ever  saw;  and  then,  too,  he  was  the  most 
pathetic  man  I  ever  saw.  He  made  me  laugh,  and  he  made  me  cry. 
One  thing  I  shall  never  forget,  and  that  was  a  story  that  he  told. 
He  said  when  he  was  a  circuit  rider  in  the  mountains  of  Georgia 
an  old  preacher  came  to  him  one  day  and  said :  'Sam,  you  know  I 
can  out-preach  you  any  day,  and  yet  the  people  of  my  circuit  are 
leaving  me  every  Sunday  and  coming  over  to  hear  you  preach.  I 
want  you  to  tell  me  why  it  is,  and,  if  you  can,  tell  me  how  to  prevent 
it;  for  it  has  come  to  pass  that  I  never  have  more  than  a  baker's 
dozen  to  hear  me.' 

"Sam  said :  'My  brother,  if  you  will  do  what  I  tell  you,  it  will  not 
be  so.    You  will  have  no  trouble  in  keeping  your  crowd.' 

"'Well,"  said  the  old  preacher,  'I  will  try.'  'No,'  said  Sam, 
'you  must  promise  to  do  exactly  what  I  tell  you.'  'All  right,"  said 
he,  'anything  to  get  a  crowd.'  'All  right,'  said  Sam ;  'next  Sunday 
when  you  go  to  church  begin  promptly  at  ii  o'clock;    announce 


404  Sam  P.  Jones. 

your  hymn,  read  your  text,  and  then  stop.  You  will  probably  see 
some  of  the  old  bench-warmers  sitting  on  the  front  pews  about  half 
asleep.  Double  up  your  fist,  strike  the  palm  of  your  hand,  and  say : 
"Boo!"  Say  it  just  as  loud  as  you  can.  If  nobody  moves,  do  so 
again,  and  again ;  and  still  if  nobody  moves,  jump  off  the  platform 
and  grab  the  first  one  that  you  come  to  by  the  back  of  the  neck  and 
pitch  him  outdoors  heels  over  head.  Get  back  on  the  platform,  look 
out  over  the  house,  and  you  will  see  the  last  man  going  out,  and 
he  will  do  what  the  last  man  always  does,  look  back  to  see  what  is 
taking  place.  Just  as  he  looks  back,  double  up  your  fist,  strike  the 
palm  of  your  hand  again  and  say  "Boo !"  as  loud  as  you  can.  He 
will  then  jump  up  twenty  feet,  and  light  on  the  ground.  Then,  you 
make  for  your  old  gray  mare,  say  as  you  go  through  the  yard, 
"Brethren,  I  will  preach  here  again  next  Sunday  morning  at  ii 
o'clock."  If  any  one  starts  to  you,  just  say  "Boo!"  Go  home  and 
lock  yourself  up  in  your  room. 

"  'In  a  few  hours'  time  the  reporters  from  Atlanta  will  be  up. 
They  never  heard  of  you  before,  but  they  will  be  there  to  interview 
you  and  to  see  w^hat  has  come  over  you.  Do  not  let  them  into  your 
room  whatever  you  do.  Finally  they  will  begin  to  beg,  and  when 
they  do,  you  put  your  mouth  to  the  keyhole  and  whisper,  "Boo!" 
Tell  them  all  you  have  to  say  is  you  will  preach  again  next  Sunday 
aiorning  at  1 1  o'clock  at  the  same  old  stand. 

"•'Those  reporters  will  at  once  leave,  and  next  morning  in  the  At- 
lanta papers  there  will  be  great  headlines — "Boo!  Boo!  Boo!"  etc. 
Think  of  it !  Two  columns  on  the  front  page  in  the  Atlanta  papers 
all  about  you!  They  have  never  heard  about  you  before.  Next 
Sunday  morning  go  to  church,  and  when  you  get  there  you  will 
find  five  thousand  people.  They  will  be  from  all  sections  round 
about,  and  at  least  half  a  dozen  newspaper  reporters  will  be  in  the 
crowd.' 

"  'Oh,  pshaw.  Brother  Jones,'  said  the  old  preacher,  'hush  your 
foolishness.  What  on  earth  will  they  be  there  for?'  'Yes,'  said 
Sam,  'that  is  just  exactly  what  I  expected  you  to  ask.  That  is  just 
what  I  wanted  you  to  ask.  They  will  be  there  to  see  and  hear  a 
man  who  has  done  something.     That's  what  they  will  be  there  for. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  405 

The  trouble  with  you,  brother,  is,  you  have  said  enough,  but  you 
have  not  done  anything,  and  what  this  world  wants  is  men  who  do 
things.' 

"I  say  I  shall  never  forget  this  story.  I  am  sure  no  one  else  ever 
will  after  they  have  heard  it.  It  made  a  great  impression  upon  me, 
especially  coming  as  it  did  at  the  very  time  I  entered  the  ministry. 
1  am  sure  I  profited  by  it  more  than  I  will  ever  be  able  to  tell,  for 
from  that  day  until  this  I  have  tried  to  do  something.  I  have  failed 
in  many  respects,  indeed  in  most  of  them;  but  it  has  not  been  be- 
cause my  intentions  have  not  been  good.  I  thank  God  for  that 
story  and  for  the  blessing  that  it  brought  into  my  life.  This  was 
Sam  Jones  as  I  first  knew  him,  and  through  all  the  years  that  have 
intervened  he  has  been  the  same  practical,  common-sense  philoso- 
pher. I  have  never  seen  a  day  since  then  that  I  have  not  believed  in 
him.  I  have  preached  with  him  many  a  time,  and  have  held  meet- 
ings with  him.  He  has  held  meetings  with  me.  This  pulpit  has 
always  been  open  to  him.  He  knew  it.  Whenever  he  wanted  to 
come  to  Atlanta  he  felt  perfectly  free  to  write  me  and  say :  'An- 
nounce me  for  Sunday.  I  will  be  down  to  preach  for  you.'  One 
time  I  remember  his  calling  me  up  over  the  'phone  and  saying: 
'Don't  you  think  your  people  need  a  little  stiffening  in  their  back- 
bones? If  so,  announce  me  for  Sunday.  I  will  come  down  and  do 
my  best.' 

"He  was  always  my  friend.  By  pen  and  by  word  he  always  spoke 
a  good  word  for  me.  Sometimes  I  have  felt  that  he  did  it  under 
protest,  for  I  did  not  see  how  any  man  could  so  completely  ignore 
my  mistakes  to  exalt  my  virtues;  but  he  was  always  charitable 
enough  not  to  criticise  me  for  my  mistakes.  No  man  ever  had  a 
greater,  braver  and  truer  champion  than  I  had  in  Sam  Jones. 

"I  want  now  to  say  a  word  about  him  as  I  last  knew  him.  It  was 
just  before  I  started  on  my  recent  trip  to  England.  We  met  on  the 
streets  of  Atlanta.  We  talked  awhile,  and  then  separated.  He 
said  to  me :  'Broughton,  you  are  going  to  London.  Preach  old  ser- 
mons while  you  are  there.  Take  a  rest  as  far  as  possible,  for  if  you 
don't  mind  you  are  going  to  kill  your  fool  self.  You  know,'  con- 
tinued he,  'you  haven't  got  much  sense,  and  you  are  working  what 


406  Sam  P.  Jones. 

you  have  got  mighty  hard  trying  to  make  up  for  what  you  "hain't" 
got.'  Everybody  knows  that  this  was  just  Hke  him.  He  was 
always  free  with  those  he  loved.  They  understood  it,  and  thorough- 
l}--  enjoyed  it.  I  remember  during  that  conversation  another  thing 
he  said.  We  were  talking  about  our  work  at  the  Tabernacle,  and 
especially  about  our  Tabernacle  Infirmary.  He  said :  'I  know  you 
are  always  in  a  strain  to  get  money  for  your  different  institutions, 
and  especially  the  hospital,  but  don't  worry  about  those  things.  If 
you  get  in  a  tight,  call  on  me.  Take  it  easy.  I  am  going  to  be  dead 
some  day,  and  I  want  you  to  be  here  to  fight  when  I  am  gone.'  This 
is  how  he  appeared  to  me  when  I  last  knew  him,  the  same  jolly, 
joking,  optimistic  character,  full  of  wit  as  keen  as  the  point  of  a 
needle,  yet  deep  in  sincerity  and  forceful  in  application. 

"He  went  with  the  harness  on,  the  same  old  harness  that  he  had 
worn  these  years.  Unlike  many  men,  he  had  retained  his  individ- 
uality, the  same  individuality  that  characterized  his  early  life.  He 
seemed  to  have  been  cut  out  for  a  definite  work,  and  God  kept  him 
straight  at  it  until  the  day  of  his  death. 

"I  wish  now  to  say  a  word  about  him  as  I  shall  know  him,  for 
I  truly  expect  some  day  to  strike  hands  with  him  again.  What  a 
great  meeting  that  will  be!  How  interested  we  will  be  in  each 
other's  story !  He  will  be  telling  me  how  he  has  found  it  in  heaven, 
and  I  will  be  telling  him.  how  things  went  on  after  he  left  us.  It 
will  be  a  great  meeting  time,  for  we  shall  not  lose  any  of  our 
friendship  by  reason  of  the  separation.  It  was  too  true  for  that. 
True  friendships  are  not  interrupted  by  separation.  They  abide 
forever. 

"But  I  find  that  I  can  not  trust  myself  to  speak  on  this  line.  Only 
let  me  give  you  these  words.  They  seem  to  suit  just  here,  because 
they  draw  a  contrast  between  the  two  worlds,  earth  and  heaven : 

"Down  below  a  sad,  mysterious  music, 

Wailing  from  the  woods  and  on  the  shore ; 
Burdened  with  a  grand,  majestic  secret. 
Which  keeps  sweeping  from  us  evermore. 


Sam  p.  Jonks.  407 

"Up  above,  music  that  entwineth, 
In  eternal  threads  of  golden  sound, 
The  great  poem  of  this  strange  existence, 

All  whose  wondrous  meaning  hath  been  found. 

"Down  below,  the  grave  within  the  churchyard, 
And  the  anguish  on  the  young  face  pale, 
And  the  watcher,  ever  as  it  dusketh, 
Rocking  to  and  fro  with  long,  sad  wail. 

"Up  above,  a  crowned  and  happy  spirit, 
Like  an  infant  in  the  eternal  years, 
Who  shall  grow  in  light  and  love  forever. 
Ordered  in  his  place  among  his  peers. 

"Oh,  the  sobbing  of  the  winds  of  autumn! 
Oh,  the  sunset  streak  of  stormy  gold ! 
Oh,  the  poor  heart,  thinking  in  the  churchyard, 
Night  is  coming  and  the  grave  is  cold! 

"Oh,  the  rest  forever,  and  the  rapture! 
Oh,  the  hand  that  wipes  the  tears  away ! 
Oh,  the  golden  homes  beyond  the  sunset! 

Oh,  the  God — that  watches  o'er  the  clay!"         '       .  - 

Tribute;  by  the  Rev.  A.  W.  Lamar. 

The  death  of  Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones  was  a  national  loss.  No  man 
who  has  lived  in  America  has  ever  spoken  to  so  many  people  as  he. 
For  thirty  years  he  went  up  and  down  the  land  preaching  civic 
righteousness;  preaching  temperance;  preaching  family  religion; 
preaching  salvation.  He  gathered  and  held  longer  greater  audiences 
than  any  man  of  whom  history  tells.  There  was  a  charm  to  his 
wonderful  voice;  there  was  a  fascination  in  his  quaint  and  homely 
way  of  putting  things ;  there  was  a  keen  edge  to  his  sarcasm ;  there 
was  a  spontaniety  to  his  wit  that  astonished;    his  repartee  was  in- 


408  Sam  P.  Jones. 

vincible;  his  humor  disarming;  his  reasoning  cogent  and  unan- 
swerable; his  philosophy  was  deep,  underlying  even  his  most 
trivial  utterances ;  his  eloquence  was  often  sublime  and  overpower- 
ing. He  had  the  eye  of  the  eagle  for  seeing  things  afar,  and  the 
heart  of  goodness  to  love  the  truth  seen.  He  understood  human 
nature  in  all  its  moods  and  tenses,  and  he  knew  how  to  play  upon 
every  string  of  the  harp  of  a  thousand  strings.  He  understood,  as 
few  public  speakers  understand,  the  uses  of  humor  and  pathos  in 
public  address.  For  this  reason  his  spiritual  surgery  amputated 
more  limbs  than  any  other  spiritual  surgeon,  and  killed  fewer 
patients. 

Princely  soul !  Generous !  Gentle !  Fearless !  Gifted  above  the 
millions  of  men,  5^et  full  of  true  humility !  Lover  of  God,  and  lover 
of  men — will  this  earth  ever  hear  again  the  voice  or  throb  to  the 
footfall  of  another  like  him? 


CHAPTER  XIJ. 


Appreciations  from  Distinguished  Men. 


Bishop  O.  P.  Fitzgeraed. 
One  of  the  Bishops  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  South. 

Sam  Jones!  that  is  what  we  loved  to  call  him  while  he  was  yet 
with  us.  That  is  what  we  love  to  call  him  now  since  he  is  gone. 
The  familiar  name — a  household  word  in  all  this  land  we  love — 
meant  so  much  that  was  dear  and  sacred  to  us.  It  meant  more  than 
can  be  known  fully  by  any  man  who  did  not  know  Sam  Jones. 

Sam  Jones !  The  name  with  us  stood  for  a  courage  that  stood  all 
tests.  In  its  mildest  manifestation  that  courage  amounted  to  au- 
dacity. In  its  highest  sweep  it  reached  a  moral  sublimity  that  it 
would  not  be  easy  to  describe  in  words.  Sam  Jones  fought  real 
evils  that  had  strong  defenders.  He  knowingly  roused  the  wrath 
of  enemies  who  hated  him  for  his  cause's  sake.  Every  evil  thing 
felt  weaker  when  he  was  in  the  midst. 

The  coming  of  Sam  Jones  always  made  a  stir!  It  meant  a  fight 
between  darkness  and  light,  Sam  Jones  in  Atlanta,  Nashville  and 
elsewhere  was  like  Paul  at  Ephesus :  the  men  who  sold  the  whisky, 
shuffled  the  cards,  and  ran  the  faro  banks  in  these  American  cities 
acted  like  the  makers  of  the  shrines  of  the  goddess  Diana.  They 
attacked  Sam  Jones  for  the  same  reason ;  their  craft  was  in  danger 
as  long  as  that  voice  of  the  man  of  God  was  left  free  to  speak  the 
truth.    That  voice  burnt  in  their  consciences  like  fire. 

Sam  Jones !  To  us  that  name  stood  for  a  faith  like  that  described 
in  that  precious  eleventh  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
telling  us  of  "the  elders  who  by  faith  obtained  a  good  report,"  When 
the  telegram  went  from  lip  to  lip  in  Nashville  saying,  "Sam  Jones 

(409) 


410  Sam  p.  JonES. 

is  dead!"  great  was  the  shock  in  all  circles.  It  seemed  to  me  almost 
as  if  an  audible  voice  whispered  in  my  inner  ear :  Another  name  for 
that  list  of  worthies  who  by  faith  obtained  a  good  report. 

Sam  Jones's  faith  was  the  secret  of  his  power.  He  had  the  faith 
that  took  Jesus  as  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life.  His  faith  was 
choice :  the  way  was  plain,  the  truth  was  clear,  the  life  was  real. 
If  Sam  Jones  ever  had  doubts,  he  never  carried  them  into  the  pul- 
pit. No,  no !  he  carried  them  to  God  in  the  secret  place,  that  God 
who  sees  in  secret  and  rewards  openly  his  faithful  servants.  If  a 
poor,  bewildered,  despondent  soul  came  to  hear  the  gospel  as  Sam 
Jones  preached  it,  he  felt  the  touch  of  a  man  with  the  power  of  a 
mighty  faith  in  God. 

Sam  Jones  spoke  the  language  of  certainty  in  the  pulpit.  Con- 
version as  he  knew  it  brought  a  great  peace  to  the  pardoned  soul. 
Consecration  as  Sam  Jones  knew  it  and  preached  meant  a  complete 
self-dedication  to  God  that  brought  from  God  a  joy  that  was  divine. 

Sam  Jones,  when  he  drew  the  line  between  the  church  and  the 
world,  describing  the  joys  that  last  in  contrast  with  the  things  that 
perish  with  the  using,  had  in  his  testimony  the  note  of  victory  from 
a  man  who  had  fought  that  battle  and  won  it.  That  note  of  cer- 
tainty in  his  preaching  was  the  outcome  of  an  experience  that  was 
all  his  own.    What  he  had  felt  and  seen  with  confidence  he  told. 

Sam  Jones  did  verily  possess  that  power  of  faith  that  produced 
its  fruits  as  described  by  the  apostle  Paul  in  Hebrews  xi.  23,  24: 
"Subdued  kingdoms,  wrought  righteousness,  obtained  promises." 

The  victories  of  Sam  Jones  were  the  victories  of  faith — the  faith 
that  chooses  Christ,  the  faith  that  believes  Christ,  the  faith  that 
obeys  Christ,  the  faith  that  receives  with  holy  gratitude  the  peace^ 
the  love,  the  power  that  Christ  imparts  to  the  receptive  soul. 

Sam  Jones  was  so  very  human  that  he  got  close  to  all  sorts  of 
people.  That  humanness  in  him  made  his  pathos  irresistible.  Sam 
Jones  was  akin  to  every  one  who  had  known  trouble.  And  that 
took  us  all  in,  for  none  have  escaped.  He  was  a  follower  and  an 
apostle  of  that  Christ  who  to  those  that  were  able  to  bear  it  made 
sorrow  the  badge  of  discipleship  and  the  door  of  entrance  into  the 
larger  liberty  and  clearer  light  promised  to  those  who  are  told  that  if 


Sam  p.  Jones.  411 

they  suffer  with  Him  here  they  shall  also  be  glorified  together  with 
Him. 

Sam  Jones's  gospel  was  a  glad  gospel.  His  Saviour  was  a  Sa- 
viour mighty  to  save. 

But  Sam  Jones,  it  goes  without  saying,  was  not  blind  to  the  tragic 
side  of  this  world  whose  mysteries  we  can  not  fathom,  this  world 
whose  tragedies  were  deep  enough  to  bring  to  its  rescue  the  Son  of 
God,  this  lost  world  which  He  came  to  seek  and  to  save.  Sam 
Jones's  conception  of  sin  was  bitter ;  he  had  felt  its  sting !  He  had 
wrestled  with  its  mystery;  he  had  groaned  under  its  intolerable 
burden.  He  looked  upon  sin  as  the  enemy  of  God  and  the  destroyer 
of  men.  To  Sam  Jones  Satan  was  no  abstraction  or  creature  of  the 
imagination,  the  imaginary  head  of  a  shadowy  kingdom  of  dark- 
ness. No,  no!  The  hell  against  which  Sam  Jones  warned  his 
hearers  he  described  in  New  Testament  language.  It  should  not  be 
thought  strange  that  those  warnings,  thus  expressed,  were  so  often 
attended  by  that  strange  power  of  conviction  accompanying  New 
Testament  truth  expressed  in  its  own  very  words.  Yes,  truly,  Sam 
Jones  believed  in  a  God  who  hated  sin.  The  lurid  pictures  he  drew 
of  the  sinfulness  of  sin,  and  of  the  doom  of  the  sinner  unrepentant 
and  unpardoned  could  not  have  been  drawn  in  milder  colors  by  an 
honest  preacher  who  believed  what  Sam  Jones  professed  to  believe. 
He  was  awfully  in  earnest,  and  that  earnestness  expressed  itself  in 
the  language  of  the  Book  itself — and  this  was  a  secret  of  Sam 
Jones's  power. 

But  the  secret  that  lay  deepest  of  all  is  found  in  the  fact  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  bore  witness  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  according  to 
His  own  promise,  and  in  the  use  of  His  own  marvelous  methods. 
To  Sam  Jones  the  Pentecostal  dispensation  meant  the  coming  of 
Pentecostal  power  whenever  and  wherever  it  was  invoked  under 
Pentecostal  conditions.  Sam  Jones  was  a  battery  charged,  and 
trailed  directly  against  the  forces  of  evil.  Bless  his  brave,  true 
heart !  His  answer  to  the  threats  that  were  sometimes  made  against 
him  was  usually  expressed  in  terms  of  mingled  defiance,  ridicule  and 
pity  toward  those  who  threatened. 

That  last  element  of  Sam  Jones's  power — a  pity  that  was  like  the 


412  Sam  P.  Jones. 

pity  of  the  pitying  Christ  for  sinners — was  the  chief  element  of  his- 
power  as  an  evangeHst.  That  pity  can  have  but  one  Source.  It  can 
not  be  counterfeited  successfully.  It  can  not  be  resisted  by  even  the 
coldest  and  hardest  hearts.  The  preaching  that  lacks  this  pity, 
whatever  else  it  may  have  that  might  commend  it  to  the  carnally- 
minded,  is  only  a  sounding  brass,  and  a  tinkling  cymbal.  The  love 
of  Christ  constrained  Sam  Jones.  That  love  he  expressed  mostly  in 
Christ's  own  way,  reciting  to  the  people  in  Christ's  own  words  what 
He  had  said,  or  illustrating  His  love  by  Christ's  own  acts. 

In  one  of  Sam  Jones's  evangelistic  gatherings  there  was  usually 
that  which  reminded  us  of  New  Testament  times  and  doings.  The 
great  crowds,  the  tenderness  that  melted  all  hearts,  the  satire  that 
made  sin  look  so  cheap  and  silly,  the  methods  that  broke  over  all 
conventionalities — what  came  with  Sam  Jones  was  something  like- 
what  is  here  described.  It  got  to  be  so  that  where  he  came  at  the 
call  of  any  community,  a  great  stir  of  this  sort  was  looked  for,  and 
there  was  no  disappointment — for  God  was  with  him.  The  notes 
of  victory  in  his  last  battle  were  still  in  his  ears  when  he  started  ta 
his  home  in  the  Georgia  hills,  but,  as  it  proved  to  be,  to  that  home 
prepared  for  him  by  his  Lord  up  yonder  where  sin  and  sorrow  can 
not  enter.  To  that  home  Sam  Jones  had  directed  many  in  the  name 
of  his  Master.    They  are  together  with  Him  now. 

Among  the  readers  of  this  chapter  those  who  know  Sam  Jones- 
as  I  did  will  repeat  with  me  the  words  we  find  in  i  Corinthians  15 : 
57 :  "Thanks  be  to  God,  which  giveth  us  the  victory  through  our- 
Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

Nashville,  Tenn. 

Rev.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman.,  D.D., 
Secretary  General  Assembly's  Committee  on  Evangelistic  Work^ 

It  has  been  my  privilege  to  know  Rev.  Sam  P.  Jones  for  a  number 
of  years.  I  first  heard  him  in  1887  when  I  was  a  pastor  in  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  and  he  was  conducting  meetings  with  Prof.  E.  O.  Excell  at 
Round  Lake,  not  far  from  Saratoga  Springs.  I  heard  him  preach 
a  sermon  on  "All  things  work  together  for  good,"  and  I  can  still 
repeat  the  outline,  and  remember  the  sermon  as  if  it  were  preached: 


Sam  p.  Jones.  413 

yesterday,  and  the  impression  it  made  upon  me.  I  came  away  from 
that  service  with  one  of  the  most  distinguished  preachers  in  our 
country,  and  I  heard  him  say  after  he  had  Hstened  to  the  same  ser- 
mon :  "I  have  heard  to-day  the  greatest  preacher  which  it  has  ever 
been  my  privilege  to  hear." 

I  consider  Sam  Jones  one  of  the  most  remarkable  mien  of  his 
generation.  He  was  peculiarly  called  to  God  to  rebuke  sin.  His 
wit  and  his  wisdom  came  from  an  inexhaustible  source  of  supply. 
He  was  not  always  understood.  Now  that  he  is  gone,  however, 
the  references  of  all  the  newspapers  to  him,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, say  that  he  has  made  his  place  in  church  history,  and  the  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus  Christ,  not  only  to-day,  but  in  days  to  come,  will 
rise  up  to  call  him  blessed. 

He  loved  God,  as  was  clearly  indicated  in  his  preaching,  and  he 
loved  men.  Some  of  the  greatest  sermons  that  have  ever  been  de- 
livered to  men  flowed  from  his  lips  and  rose  from  the  depths  of  his 
heart.  God  not  only  gave  him  wide  observation  and  a  great  expe- 
rience, but  he  trained  him  through  trial  and  suffering  to  be  the  man 
that  he  was. 

And  yet  I  am  told  that  no  one  knew  Mr.  Jones  until  they  had  met 
him  in  his  own  household.  I  have  a  vivid  picture  in  my  mind  now 
of  his  being  at  the  World's  Fair  at  St.  Louis  with  the  most  of  his 
family,  and  it  was  a  constant  delight  to  me  to  look  across  the  dining- 
room  of  the  hotel  and  see  his  face  wreathed  in  smiles  as  he  talked 
with  those  whom  he  loved. 

A  friend  of  mine  who  was  recently  his  guest,  says  that  he  was  a 
veritable  priest  in  his  own  household,  and  that  the  members  of  his 
family  loved  him  with  a  passionate  devotion.  He  was  as  true  as 
steel,  and  as  honest  as  the  day  is  long. 

He  was  the  most  generously  paid  man  on  the  platform  to-day, 
and  yet  he  was  constantly  giving  to  those  who  were  in  distress.  It 
was  his  delight  to  work  beyond  his  strength  that  he  might  have 
wherewith  to  give  to  those  who  needed  it. 

Two  of  my  friends  who  have  labored  with  him  constantly,  each 
said  the  same  thing,  without  knowing  that  the  other  said  it — "Sam 
Jones  was  the  cleanest,  whitest  and  purest  man  in  all  this  world/' 
Personally,  I  thank  God  that  he  ever  lived. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 


Appreciations  from  Distinguished  Men. 


Sam  Jones  Dead! 

hon.  john  tempee  graves. 

If  the  brief,  startling  message  of  the  morning  wires  be  verified 
by  later  dispatches,  Sam  Jones,  of  Georgia,  the  most  famous  evan- 
gelist of  modern  times,  has  been  gathered  swiftly  and  suddenly  into 
reward  and  rest. 

If  it  be  true — and  there  are  few  possibilities  of  mistake — the  end 
has  come  as  Sam  Jones  would  have  it  come.  In  the  full  flush  of  a 
glorious  and  militant  life,  on  the  march,  in  full  harness,  with  eyes 
bright,  with  record  clear,  with  the  conscience  clean,  with  the  echoes 
of  applause  and  laughter  and  cheers  yet  ringing  in  his  ears,  the 
dauntless  evangel,  the  vital  reformer,  the  militant  preacher,  the 
eloquent  orator,  the  unequaled  humorist,  without  suffering,  without 
waiting  and  without  anxiety,  answers  the  instant  roll-call  and  is 
dismissed  from  present  service  and  promoted  to  a  higher  and  a 
nobler  sphere. 

A  brave  man  physically,  Sam  Jones  was  a  brave  man  morally, 
and  spiritually  without  fear.  The  problem  of  death  had  faced  him 
as  an  imminent  issue  more  than  once  during  the  years  of  feeble 
health  about  him,  and  we  may  be  sure  there  were  no  coward  tremors 
and  no  shrinking  back  when  the  death  angel  swooped  with  his 
sudden  summons  to  the  great  tribunal  where  men  must  give  ac- 
count. 

And  the  great  evangel  had  small  need  to  fear  the  verdict  of  the 
Supreme  Justice  who  presided  there.     His  was  a  faithful  and  a 

(414) 


Sam  p.  Jones.  415 

fearless  life.  He  had  been  true  since  the  plighting  of  his  faith  to 
Christ.  To  strike  and  spare  not,  was  the  motto  with  which  he 
faced  the  sinner.  To  help  and  rescue,  was  the  second  motto  which 
redeemed  the  fearless  first.  He  was  as  swift  to  succor  as  he  was 
to  smite.  He  was  as  tender  in  healing  as  he  was  terrible  in  arouse- 
ment.  And  the  terror  of  many  an  awakened  sinner  had  been  soft- 
ened in  the  tenderness  of  a  penitent's  forgiven  tears.  And  through 
terror  and  through  conscience,  through  tenderness  and  tears,  he 
had  fought  the  Master's  fight,  he  had  gathered  the  Master's  peo- 
ple, and  roused  and  comforted,  and  wounded  and  healed,  and  in 
the  crowds  that  followed  him,  and  in  the  multitudes  which  heard 
him,  as  they  heard  his  Master,  gladly,  he  had  justified  the  commis- 
sion which  had  been  given  him  to  preach  a  real  gospel  to  a  dying 
world. 

If  in  the  darkness  and  loneliness  of  a  night  upon  the  rushing  rail, 
the  brave,  bright  soul  of  the  evangelist  went  out  to  meet  its  Maker 
all  alone,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  tears  and  the  tenderness,  the 
love  and  the  laughter,  the  fear  and  the  faith,  the  hope  and  the 
heartfulness  of  the  thousands  who  had  followed  him  through  life, 
were  crowned  by  the  "well  done"' of  the  Elder  Brother  who  held 
his  hand  as  they  walked  through  the  last  shadows  to  the  light  and 
beauty   of   the   Father's   throne. 

BY   HON.    WILLIAM   JENNINGS  BRYAN. 

"Sam  Jones,  the  famous  evangelist,  died  last  week,  and  his  death 
removes  from  the  scene  of  action  a  man  whose  life-work  resulted  in 
great  and  permanent  good  to  the  world.  His  earnestness,  his  evi- 
dent sincerity  and  his  plain,  common-sense  way  of  putting  things, 
made  him  a  favorite  with  the  people.  No  one  ever  was  in  doubt  as  to 
where  Sam  Jones  stood  on  any  question  confronting  the  people,  and 
many  of  his  quaint  and  blunt  sayings  have  passed  into  proverbs. 

"Many  years  ago  Sam  Jones  was  engaged  in  a  great  union  revival 
meeting  at  Plattsburg,  Mo.  One  of  the  visiting  ministers  asked  him 
one  day  why  he  did  not  use  better  language  and  refrain  from  so 
many  'slang'  expressions.     'My  dear  brother,'  replied  Mr.  Jones, 


416  Sam  P.  Jones. 

*I  am  a  fisher  of  men.  I  judge  the  efficacy  of  my  bait  by  the  results 
1  get.  When  one  of  your  soft-spoken,  namby-pamby  Httle  preachers 
can  show  a  bigger  string  of  fish  than  I  can  I'll  try  his  kind  of  bait.' 

"For  a  quarter  of  a  century  Sam  Jones  was  a  prominent  figure  in 
the  pulpit  and  on  the  lecture  platform,  and  if  life  is  measured  by 
what  men  put  into  it,  instead  of  what  men  get  out  of  it,  then  Sam 
Jones's  life  was  a  success. 

"Sam  Jones  had  a  great  mind,  directed  by  a  great  heart;  an  elo- 
quent tongue  enlisted  on  the  side  of  humanity ;  a  marvelous  energy 
employed  for  the  improvement  of  society." 

In  Memoriam — Sam  Jones, 
by  hon.  thomas  e-  watson. 

"That  was  bad  about  Sam  Jones,  wasn't  it?"  he  asked,  meaning, 
of  course,  the  sudden  death  of  the  great  evangelist  on  a  railway  car. 

No,  it  was  not  bad.  It  was,  in  many  respects,  an  ideal  departure 
from  this  terrible  world.  He  had  lived  his  brightest  day,  had  done 
his  best  work — and  he  fell  in  the  midst  of  his  renown,  before  the 
benumbing  murmur  began  to  buzz  in  his  ears,  "He  is  not  what  he 
once  was." 

He  had  just  closed  a  great  series  of  religious  meetings.  For  days 
and  days  he  had  been  doing  the  Master's  work,  living  face  to  face 
with  the  Most  High.  Not  lecturing  for  money.  No!  Preaching  the 
Gospel  of  the  good  life,  of  the  salvation  free  for  all. 

With  the  benediction  on  his  lips  he  passed  away.  With  a  prayer 
in  his  soul,  his  great  heart  ceased  to  throb. 

Like  the  soldier  who  falls  in  the  battle-line,  after  he  has  fought 
a  good  fight  and  won  the  field,  so  fell  Sam  Jones. 

Bad?  No,  by  the  splendor  of  God!  It  was  a  glorious  death,  a 
beautiful  death,  an  enviable  death. 

The  night  before  he  was  killed,  C^sar  heard  his  companions  dis- 
cussing the  question  of  what  kind  of  death  was  most  to  be  desired. 
He  was  busy  with  affairs  of  state,  but  he  paused  in  his  work  to  ex- 
press his  opinion  of  the  death  which  was  most  to  be  desired :  "That 
which  is  least  expected."     Next  day  he  got  it. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  417 

Think  of  what  was  spared  to  Sam  Jones.  There  was  no  heart- 
rending torture  of  protracted  pain.  There  was  no  dreary  martyr- 
dom of  bedridden  sickness.  The  wife  of  his  youth  was  at  his 
side;  the  infinite  peace  of  God  was  in  his  heart. 

What  more?  There  had  been  no  pitiable  decay  of  intellect,  no 
saddening  decline  of  influence,  no  loss  of  the  ear  of  the  world,  no 
dropping  away  of  friends. 

Yet  he  must  have  known  that,  if  he  continued  to  live,  from  year 
to  year,  inexorable  Fate  would  drag  him  nearer  the  bleak  regions 
of  Old  Age  wherein  one's  Joys  steadily  diminish  and  one's  Sorrows 
remorselessly  multiply. 

Bad  ?  No,  it  was  not  bad.  Providence  let  him  win  success  when 
it  was  still  sweet  to  the  taste,  and  then  mercifully  took  him  away 
from  the  horrors  of  that  pathetic  decay,  that  appalling  process  of 
going  back  to  childhood — that  second  childhood  which  has  all  the 
helplessness  of  the  first,  with  nothing  to  disguise,  alleviate  or  offset 
its  repulsiveness. 

Did  I  not  see  the  once  lordly  Robert  Toombs  totter  about  in  the 
care  of  a  man-servant,  too  feeble  of  mind  and  body  to  be  trusted  to 
travel  alone?  Did  not  Alexander  H.  Stephens  linger  upon  the 
stage  until  it  gave  one  the  heartache  to  hear  him  try  to  make  a 
speech  ? 

Would  it  not  have  been  a  mercy  of  heaven  if  the  stroke  of  paraly- 
sis which  struck  down  William  H.  Crawford  at  the  height  of  his 
fame,  and  powers,  had  stretched  him  dead?  What  did  it  leave  of 
that  greatest  of  Georgians  but  a  broken  mind  in  a  broken  body  ? 

Ah,  give  me  that  beautiful  death  which  saves  me  from  the  un- 
utterable miseries  of  senility  and  decay. 

God  knows  there's  little  enough  in  life,  even  at  its  best;  but  the 
crudest  weakness  which  nature  curses  us  with  is  the  timorous  cling- 
ing to  life  when  there's  nothing  left  to  live  for. 

Marlborough  in  his  dotage — too  melancholy  to  contemplate! 

Dean  Swift  a  driveller  and  a  show — the  mind  recoils  from  tlie 
spectacle. 

Sir  Walter  Scott  still  trying  to  write  when  all  the  force  and  fire 
and  creative  genius  were  gone — pitiful  to  the  last  degree. 


418  Sam  P.  Jones. 

Napoleon  in  captivity,  fat  to  unwieldiness,  querulous,  vainly  beat- 
ing his  broken  wings  against  the  bars  of  his  cage,  garrulously  hold- 
ing forth  upon  the  glories  of  his  past — it  is  too  sad  for  words. 
Better,  a  thousand  times  better,  had  he  died  at  Waterloo  with  his 
face  to  the  front — spur  on  heel,  blade  in  hand. 

Mozart  died  beautifully — while  they  chanted  the  Requiem  which 
marked  the  high-tide  of  his  genius. 

Mirabeau  died  grandly — while  he  still  stood  in  the  midst  of  the 
French  people,  an  Atlas  bearing  social  order  upon  his  back. 

William  Pitt  died  enviably — in  the  prime  of  his  strength,  while 
still  the  uncrowned  monarch  of  Great  Britain. 

Stonewall  Jackson  died  gloriously — with  the  praise  of  his  chief 
warming  his  heart,  the  shouts  of  victory  gladdening  his  ears,  and 
the  faith  of  a  Christian  robbing  death  of  its  sting. 

Henry  Grady  died  a  lamentable  death — for  he  seemed  to  die  too 
soon.  His  serious  life-work  seemed  just  begun.  To  be  stricken 
down  and  consigned  to  chill  darkness  and  forgetfulness  when  his 
youthful  strength  was  so  abundant,  his  blood  so  warm  and  eager, 
his  feet  so  ardent  for  the  march,  his  arm  so  strong  for  the  fight — 
it  seemed  a  hard,  unmeaning  fate. 

But  Sam  Jones  was  nearing  threescore  years.  The  heat  and 
burden  of  the  day  were  behind.  The  best  of  his  strength  was  spent. 
The  glory  of  the  afternoon  had  come — and  the  twilight  could  not 
be  far  away.  Better  that  he  should  wear  out  and  not  rust  out, 
better  that  he  should  fall  with  his  armor  on,  victorious  to  the  last, 
than  fret  and  pine  away  amid  the  shadows  of  mocking  memories. 

To  me,  then,  it  seems  that  he  died  as  he  would  have  chosen  to 
die — in  a  blaze  of  glory.  Sooner  or  later  the  few,  the  very  few, 
who  really  love  us  must  weep  at  our  graves — a  difference  of  a  few 
days,  or  a  few  months,  will  not  lessen  the  sorrow.  Not  all  the 
preaching  since  Adam  has  made  death  other  than  death;  and  the 
grief  of  those  who  survive  the  beloved  dead  is  a  burden  which 
humanity  allows  no  affectionate  soul  to  escape. 

God  pity  the  bereaved  wife!     God  pity  the  stricken  children. 

As  to  Sam  Jones  himself,  he  had  lived  a  great  life,  and  he  met 
a  glorious  death.     Xo  braver  soldier  of  the  cross  ever  stormed  the 


Sam  p.  Jones.  419 

citadel  of  sin.  No  uniformed  follower  of  Lee  or  Grant  ever  marched 
with  greater  purpose  or  fought  with  greater  pluck.  Against  vice 
in  all  its  forms,  he  brought  every  weapon  known  to  the  armory  of 
right,  and  he  used  them  with  a  force  and  skill  and  tireless  energy 
which  made  him  the  most  powerful  evangel  of  Christ  that  recent 
history  has  known. 

Brilliant,  witty,  wise,  eloquent,  profound  in  his  knowledge  of 
the  human  heart,  no  man  ever  faced  an  audience  who  could  so 
easily  master  it. 

From  laughter  to  tears,  from  indifference  to  enthusiasm,  from 
levity  to  intense  emotion,  he  could  lead  the  multitude  at  his  will. 
Under  his  magnetism  and  will-power  the  brazen  libertine  blushed 
for  shame,  the  hardened  criminal  trembled  in  fear,  smug  respecta- 
bility saw  its  shortcomings,  sham  Christians  forgot  to  be  self-com- 
placent, social  hypocrites  fell  upon  their  knees,  and  the  miser  opened 
his  purse. 

I  met  Sam  Jones  in  1879,  when  he  was  poor  and  unknown.  He 
came,  unheralded,  to  conduct  a  revival  in  our  town.  I  heard  him 
preach  a  few  times,  recognized  a  genius,  and  predicted  his  renown. 
His  wonderful  career,  afterwards,  was  no  surprise  to  me.  Since 
that  day,  in  1879,  when  we  took  each  other  by  the  hand — two  poor 
and  unknown  young  men — I  have  been  his  admirer,  his  friend, 
ever  glorying  in  his  rise. 

Yet,  in  all  our  passing  to  and  fro,  we  met  but  twice  in  the  sub- 
sequent twenty-seven  years,  and  then  for  a  moment  only.  Now 
and  then  we  hailed  each  other  from  a  distance,  through  the  news- 
papers, but  we  met  no  more.  He  moved  in  his  orbit,  I  in  mine,  and 
each  had  his  work  to  do.     And  now  his  is  done,  and  well  done. 

He  was  the  greatest  Georgian  this  generation  has  known;  the 
greatest,  in  some  respects,  that  any  generation  has  kno^vn. 

"Duty  is  the  sublimest  word  in  the  language,"  said  Robert  E. 
Lee,  himself  the  flower  of  Anglo-Saxon  manhood. 

That  Sam  Jones  fell  at  the  post  of  sacred  duty — died  with  the 
Master's  message  to  erring  man  fresh  from  his  lips — seems  to  me 
beautifully  fitting,  superbly  appropriate. 

Once  he  said,  touchingly,  "When  all  grows  dark  and  doubtful — 


420  •  Sam  P.  Jones. 

human  wisdom  failing — and  I  can  not  see  my  way,  I  lift  my  helpless- 
hand,  and  pray :  'Father,  take  Thou  my  hand.* " 

Somehow,  somewhere,  it  must  be  that  heroic  souls  find,  in  better 
worlds  than  this,  tasks  which  are  worthy  of  their  diviner  gifts.    AH 
this,  and  more,  some  day  we'll  understand.    "Father,  take  Thou  my 
hand,"  the  loyal  soul  prayed;  and  now,  in  His  own  good  time,  Her 
has  taken  it. 


BOOK  FOUR 

Sayings 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 


Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones. 

"Our  church  don't  forbid  dancing,"  exclaims  one.  Which  is 
your  church  ?  All  of  the  grand  churches  of  the  land  are  outspoken 
against  it.  If  any  church  sanctioned  dancing  I  would  not  stay  in  the 
little  thing  long  enough  to  get  my  hat — I  would  run  out  bareheaded. 

I  wouldn't  give  the  spirit  of  the  old  negro  woman  down  South 
for  all  of  the  alleged  faith  of  some  Christians.  She  was  coming 
down  the  street  with  a  big  basket  of  clothes,  singing  happily  as  a 
lark,  when  a  citizen  said  to  her:  "Good  morning,  aunty;  you  seem 
to  be  happy  as  a  lark  this  morning."  "Well,"  said  she,  "I  is,  boss." 
"Have  you  any  money  laid  up?"  "No,  boss,  I  hasn't."  "Have  you 
a  home?"  "No,  boss."  "Well,  how  do  you-^live?"  "I  washes 
fur  it,"  said  she.  "The  Lord  is  my  shepherd  and  I  airrt  gwine  to 
want." 

"Now  is  the  accepted  time ;  now  is  the  day  of  salvation."  When 
God's  dinner-bell  rings  all  you  want  is  an  appetite,  and  you  can 
walk  in  and  there's  a  place  for  you. 

I  DESPISE  to  see  a  man  who  knows  more  than  everybody  else  in 
the  community,  and  who  does  not  know  enough  to  behave  himself. 
Some  men  have  not  got  sense  enough  to  be  decent. 

Don''t  imagine  that  because  you  have  burned  up  no  meeting-house 
and  killed  no  preachers  you  will  get  in  at  the  fool's  door. 

Don''t  allow  your  boys  to  learn  gambling  at  home,  and  then  you, 
in  a  hypocritical  old  age,  go  around  bewailing  their  fate.  A  woman 
in  Chicago  told  me  her  husband  worked  hard  all  day,  and  she  played 
cards  with  him  every  night  to  amuse  him.  I  told  her  to  ship  him  to 
an  asylum,  for  there  they  play  cards  for  amusement.  A  game  of 
cards  is  the  game  of  starvelings,  mentally  and  spiritually.     Sisters, 

(423) 


424  Sam  P.  Jones. 

you  who  have  such  husbands,  I  tell  you  what  to  do:  Buy  him  a 
tin  horse  and  a  tin  horn.  Make  him  straddle  the  tin  horse  and  blow 
the  horn  for  him.  Sister,  don't  let  the  children  laugh  at  him.  Tell 
the  children  that  their  little  papa  has  worked  hard  all  day,  and 
wants  to  be  amused.     Sister,  sister,  get  him  a  tin  horse. 

God  have  mercy  on  men  who  have  not  got  sense  enough  to  be 
faithful  to  the  vows  made  to  their  wives ! 

I  CAN  stand  anything  better  than  I  can  stand  a  hypocrite.  I  al- 
ways did  have  a  hatred  for  shams  and  humbugs  and  cheats,  and  of 
all  the  humbugs  that  ever  cursed  the  universe,  I  reckon  the  religious 
humbug  is  the  humbuggiest. 

Now  the  general  pulpit  style  of  America  is  about  like  this :  "Here 
I  am,  Rev.  Jeremiah  Jones,  D.D.,  saved  by  the  grace  of  God  with 
a  message  to  deliver.  If  you  repent  and  believe  what  I  believe,  you 
will  be  saved,  but  if  you  do  not,  you  will  be  damned,  and  I  don't 
care  much  if  you  are." 

I  AM  sorry  for  the  preacher  that  has  got  so  low  down  in  his  the- 
ology that  he  is  trying  to  establish  the  fact  that  there  is  no  hell.  I 
know  of  men  tr}ang  to  establish  the  fact  that  there  is  no  hell.  A 
gentleman  said  to  me  a  few  days  ago  that  the  fact  was  nearly  es- 
tablished. I  said  to  him :  "When  did  you  start  your  exploring 
party  down  there,  and  when  will  they  return  to  report?" 

The  infidelity  that  is  hurting  the  church  in  this  nineteenth  cen- 
tury is  not  theoretical  infidelity;  the  infidelity  that  is  demoralizing 
the  church  and  the  world  is  practical  infidelity :  the  fellow  that  be- 
lieves the  Bible  and  won't  do  one  thing.  Now  you  have  got  a  fool 
and  a  rascal  mixed  in  one  compound.  It  is  the  most  awful  com- 
pound that  Christ  ever  tackled.  He  believes  in  prayer-meetings, 
but  he  has  not  been  to  one  this  year;  he  believes  in  the  missionary 
cause,  but  he  gets  out  with  the  least  he  can  give;  he  believes  in 
family  prayer,  but  you  can't  prove  it  by  his  wife  and  children.  He 
goes  on  the  principle  that  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned,  and 
he  believes  in  everything.  If  your  sort  was  put  on  the  market  and 
everybody  felt  toward  you  as  I  do,  you  would  not  bring  much — 
you  would  not.  ...    ...    ,   •  j 


Sam  p.  Jones.  "  425 

The  church  of  God  is  the  last  place  to  be  solemn  in,  provided  you 
have  lived  right.  If  I  have  lived  a  true  and  upright  life,  when  I 
meet  Christians  I  will  smile.  If  I  have  been  swindling  widows  and 
dishonoring  my  God  and  myself,  when  I  come  to  church  there  will 
naturally  be  the  solemnity  of  the  graveyard. 

I  HAVE  met  with  hard  old  sinners  who  have  said  that  church  , 
members  have  stood  in  their  way.  I  don't  wonder  at  this.  Why, 
some  church  members  gouge  each  other.  Some  borrow  money  from 
each  other  and  never  pay  it  back.  Some  backbite  each  other.  No 
wonder  they  go  for  old  sinners.  I  never  call  any  names,  brothers, 
but  each  fellow  knows  his  number  wdien  I  hit  him.  Let's  get  right, 
and  there  will  be  found  enough  water  in  the  fountain  of  life  to  wash- 
away  every  speck  of  dirt. 

There  are  old  money-lenders  in  this  city  who,  if  they  were  to 
get  to  heaven,  would  not  be  there  three  weeks  before  they  would 
v/ant  to  set  up  a  sort  of  corner-lot  business. 

Quit  your  meanness,  and  tell  God  you  mean  it,  if  you  wish  to  be 
saved.  You  need  not  be  skipping  around  the  Lord  with  the  devil's 
old  musket  on  your  shoulder. 

God  pity  the  man  that  is  boarding  with  his  wife  in  a  fifty-thou- 
sand-dollar mansion,  and  is  cheating  the  widow  and  orphan ! 

"I  HAVE  doubts,"  says  one.  Well,  you  just  quit  your  meanness 
and  you  will  quit  doubting. 

TlIv  tell  you  one  thing,  riches  you  get  wrongly  will  not  only  curse 
you,  but  will  curse  your  family  after  you  are  dead  and  gone.  I 
was  talking  this  evening  about  the  ill-gotten  gain  of  some  man  in 

.     A  poor  family  was  found  by  a  reporter  starving  to 

death  and  nearly  frozen  in  the  late  cold  spell,  and  when  they  came 
to  find  the  cause  it  was  found  that  they  were  making  garments  for  a 

house  in  that  was  paying  fifteen  cents  a  dozen.     That 

sort  of  money  will  turn  into  brimstone,  and  you  will  carry  enough 
brimstone  to  hell  with  you  to  burn  you  forever,  if  that's  the  way 
you  get  your  money.  I  will  tell  you  another  thing:  Fifteen  cents 
a  dozen  for  making  garments  is  communistic  fire  that  will  burn  this 
country  up  some  of  these  days. 


426  Sam  P.  Jones. 

What  is  hell  at  last?  It  is  the  very  quintessence  of  selfishness 
and  selfishness  is  hell.  There  is  not  an  element  in  hell  that  does  not 
enter  into  selfishness,  and  the  supremely  selfish  man  has  already 
lighted  the  fires  of  hell  in  his  soul  that  shall  burn  forever. 

Sin  is  the  one  thing  in  the  universe  that  permanently  damages 
a  man  and  eternally  damns  him.  Disappointment  may  worry  him, 
and  grief  may  sadden  him,  and  adversity  may  bring  hardship  and 
hunger  to  his  life,  but  blessed  be  God,  sin  is  the  only  thing  in  the 
universe  that  can  leave  its  permanent  mark  on  character — a  mark 
which  shall  last  forever. 

One  sin  is  enough  to  cut  the  soul  adrift  from  God.  I've  seen 
men  who  were  not  afraid  to  die;  but  I  never  saw  a  man  who  was  not 
afraid  of  the  judgment-bar  of  God. 

There  is  nothing  in  grace  that  will  make  you  a  sober  man  with 
a  quart  of  whisky  in  your  stomach. 

Let  us  quit  drinking,  boys.  A  dram-cup  in  my  hand  broke  my 
father's  heart.  Quit  drinking,  boys.  It'll  drive  the  roses  from 
your  wife's  cheeks,  and  they  will  never  come  back  again. 

From  a  governor  down  to  a  dog  pelter,  I  would  not  vote  for  a 
man  that  touches,  tastes  or  handles  whisky  to  save  my  life,  and 
you  can  never  redeem  America  with  a  legislature  whose  breath  is 
tainted  with  whisky. 

I  HAVE  never  seen  but  one  man  in  America  that  would  stand  up 
and  say  he  drank  whisky  and  never  told  his  wife  a  lie  about  it. 
Have  you  got  one  here  to-day?  Is  there  a  man  who  drinks  whisky 
that  never  told  his  wife  a  lie  about  it?  If  there  is,  stand  up.  I 
want  to  see  you.  I  expect  some  of  you  would  have  stood  up,  but 
your  wives  are  with  you  and  you  don't  want  to  be  caught  in  a  lie. 

This  liquor  traffic  has  come  down  to  where  it  is  a  question  of 
blood  and  death  and  hell.  These  women  are  getting  tired  of  seeing 
their  husbands  go  down  to  drunkards'  graves ;  these  mothers  are 
tired  of  seeing  their  sons  go  to  a  drunkard's  hell. 

I  went  down  into  the  dirt  to  bring  back  a  wayward  son  to  a  good 
woman,  and  she  turned  up  her  nose  at  me.     God  help  you  to  turn 


Sam  p.  Jones.  427 

up  your  noses  at  your  drunken  husbands  and  boys,  and  not  at  the 
man  who  brings  them  back  to  God. 

Watch  the  association  of  your  children.  Do  not  allow  your 
boys  to  go  with  young,  rich  debauchees  simply  for  the  money.  Why, 
some  of  these  scoundrels  can  get  drunk  on  Saturday  night  and 
then  on  Sunday  evening  go  to  church  with  the  sweetest  girl  in  the 
family.  We  need  some  old-fashioned  daddies  who  would  meet 
these  young  bucks  at  the  door  and  kick  them  clean  out  into  the 
street.  Some  girls  in  a  Southern  city  married  a  lot  of  fellows  to 
reform  them.    That  town  soon  had  a  batch  of  whippoorwill  widows. 

We  are  all  created  on  a  common  platform ;  we  are  all  redeemed 
on  a  common  platform.  When  God  gave  one  a  chance  he  threw  the 
gates  open  to  all. 

Ie  God  will  empty  your  heads  and  hearts  of  all  the  error  you 
have  packed  away  in  them,  I  will  preach  enough  truth  to  save  you 
to-night. 

That  old  Colonel  will  sit  out  there  on  the  street  and  pronounce 
his  opinion,  so  and  so.  Young  men  will  say,  "It  is  my  opinion." 
They  got  that  from  the  old  Colonel,  and  he  got  it  fresh  from  hell. 
They  all  say,  "My  opinion."  Very  few  men  think.  One  or  two 
great  minds  do  the  thinking  for  Europe.  One  or  two  great  minds 
do  the  thinking  for  America. 

A  MAN  incased  in  his  own  opinions  is  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
power  of  God.  See  the  old  farmer  in  the  house  smoking  quietly :  a 
storm  gathers,  and  a  cloud  loaded  with  electricity  is  overhead ;  the 
lightning  strikes  the  rod  on  the  chimney  and  throws  itself  into  the 
earth,  and  the  farmer  sits  and  smokes  as  if  nothing  had  happened. 
The  gospel  of  Christ  flashes  above  the  heads  of  the  multitude  and 
descends  with  sin-killing  power,  and  strikes  this  outside  incasement 
of  every  man's  own  opinions,  and  runs  ofT  into  the  earth. 

The  less  sense  a  fellow  has,  and  the  less  he  thinks,  the  more  opin- 
ions he  has. 

What  is  culture  worth  if  it  is  but  the  whitewash  on  a  rascal? 
I  would  rather  be  in  heaven  learning  my  A  Bc's  than  sitting  in 
hell  reading  Greek. 


CHAPTER    XLIV. 


Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones  (Continued). 

Ie  a  man  hasn't  enough  rehgion  to  pray  in  his  family,  he  hasn't 
enough  to  take  him  to  heaven. 

Take  an  ordinary  Methodist,  now  a  backshder,  and  strike  him 
down  with  a  six-weeks'  spell  of  typhoid  fever,  and  you  can  do  more 
to  get  him  better  spiritually  than  by  preaching  five  hundred  sermons. 
Shake  a  sinner  over  a  coffin  and  turn  him  loose  and  he  will  hit  the 
ground  running  a  mile  a  minute. 

Going  to  church  is  like  going  shopping :  you  generally  get  what 
you  go  for — no  more  and  no  less.  A  woman  will  go  into  a  store 
with  a  hundred  thousands  dollars'  worth  of  goods  all  around  her, 
buy  a  paper  of  pins  and  walk  out;   that  is  all  she  came  for. 

At  every  conference  you  notice  delegations  going  up  to  the  bishop 
from  the  leading  churches.  One  delegation  will  go  to  the  bishop 
and  say:  "Bishop,  we  want  you  to  send  us  a  preacher  this  year 
that  is  popular  with  the  young  people."  Another  delegation  will 
say :  "We  want  you  to  send  us  a  preacher  that  is  popular  with  other 
denominations."  Another  crowd  will  go  in  and  say :  "Please  send 
us  a  preacher  that  is  popular  with  sinners."  Another  crowd  will 
say:  "Send  us  a  preacher  that  is  popular  with  everybody."  But 
I  tell  you  that  I  never  heard  of  a  delegation  going  up  to  conference 
and  asking  the  bishop  to  "Please  send  us  a  preacher  that  is  popular 
with  God  Almighty." 

I  AM  willing  for  anybody  to  have  more  money  than  I  have,  and 
more  land  than  I  ever  expect  to  have,  and  more  stocks  and  bonds 
than  I  can  ever  get,  but  I  am  not  willing  for  any  man  that  walks  this 
earth  to  have  more  religion  than  I  have.  I  can  get  as  much  as  a  soul 
full,  and  that's  about  as  much  as  an  angel  can  get.    If  I  am  a  Chris- 

(42S) 


Sam  p.  Jones.  429 

tian  I  will  be  a  Christian ;  if  I  am  a  Methodist,  I  will  be  a  Methodist ; 
if  I  am  a  Presbyterian,  I  will  be  a  Presbyterian,  and  if  I  am  a  Bap- 
tist, I  will  be  a  Baptist.  I  am  going  to  be  one  all  over,  through  and 
through,  but  I  wouldn't  be  a  little  old  dried-up,  knock-kneed,  one- 
horse,  shriveled  nothing  anywhere. 

I  don't  care  what  a  man  says  he  believes  with  his  lips ;  I  want 
to  know  with  a  vengeance  what  he  says  with  his  life  and  actions. 

Did  you  ever  look  at  your  heart  until  you  saw  it?  You  have 
glanced  at  it.  The  hardest  thing  a  fellow  ever  tried  to  do  in  this 
world  is  to  be  good  with  a  bad  heart.  A  man  was  once  trying  to 
<;leanse  out  his  spring.  He  was  working  and  tugging  away,  when 
a  stranger  came  along  and  said,  "Say,  look  here;  take  that  hog  out 
of  the  spring,  and  all  will  be  well."  Many  a  man  is  trying  to  cleanse 
the  spring  of  his  life  with  the  devil  wallowing  in  the  fountain. 

The  best  way  in  the  world  to  kill  a  fellow  is  to  love  him  to  death ; 
then  you  don't  have  to  bury  him. 

You  turn  the  lovable  side  of  your  character  on  everybody  else, 
and  everybody  will  love  you.  You  turn  the  unlovable  side  of  your 
character  to  every  one,  and  they  will  do  the  same.  I  moved  into 
a  settlement  once,  and  the  man  I  lived  next-door  neighbor  to  was 
not  liked  by  anybody,  and  he  did  not  like  anybody.  I  went  in  there 
and  turned  the  lovable  side  of  my  character  to  him,  and  he  did  the 
same  to  me.  I  found  out  that  when  he  came  there  he  had  turned 
the  unlovable  side  of  his  character  to  every  one,  and  every  one  had 
turned  their  unlovable  side  to  him. 

TvB  heard  it  said  that  God  loves  good  people  and  hates  bad 
people.  Glad  it's  a  lie.  God  loves  the  meanest  man  that  curses 
this  world  to-day  as  much  as  he  loves  the  best  man  on  earth.  A 
mother  has  five  boys.  Four  of  them  are  preachers,  the  other  is 
dissipated,  godless,  bad.  You  can  go  to  that  mother's  house  and 
say  what  you  please  about  those  preachers,  but  don't  you  say  any- 
thing against  poor  John.  If  you  do  the  mother  will  jump  on  you 
in  a  minute.    She  doesn't  allow  anybody  to  say  anything  about  John. 


430  Sam  P.  Joni;s. 

Love  is  not  only  the  divinest  and  sublimest,  but  the  most  omnipo- 
tent power  in  the  world. 

He  who  loves  the  most  is  the  one  who's  got  the  immortal  capital. 
God  give  me  love  for  a  millionaire  field  in  heaven.  You'll  have 
plenty  of  elbow-room  there.  Thank  God  I've  not  got  anything  in 
this  world  to  forgive.  I  shall  never  get  mad  with  any  man  unless 
he  treats  me  worse  than  I  have  treated  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

If  everybody  on  earth  loved  God  supremely  and  his  neighbor  as 
himself,  then  we  would  have  a  heaven  on  earth,  and  we  would  need 
no  more  restraints  on  earth  than  they  need  in  heaven. 

You  goody-goody  church  folks  are  going  around  the  whole  Chris- 
tian world  to-day  singing, 

"Oh,  to  be  nothing,  nothing." 

and  you  have  sung  it  until  it  has  got  to  be  true  of  you.  That  is  just 
about  the  way  the  whole  thing  has  come  out — just  nothing.  If 
you  want  to  be  nothing,  just  lam  in.  I  don't!  I  want  to  be  a  man, 
and  I  want  to  be  something,  and  somebody,  and  I  want  to  go  some- 
where when  I  die,  and  I  would  rather  go  to  hell  than  to  go  no- 
where. 

"Gentleness."  Beecher  once  had  a  horse  brought  to  him  for  a 
buggy-ride,  and  he  asked,  "Is  that  horse  gentle?"  And  they  an- 
swered: "Yes,  sir;  he  is  not  afraid  of  anything  in  the  world,  and 
he  will  work  anywhere."  And  Beecher  said:  "I  wish  I  had  one 
member  in  my  church  like  that — not  afraid  of  anything,  and  will 
work  anywhere."  I  saw  a  great  big  fine  bay  horse  once  that  would 
not  work  anywhere  except  to  a  light,  striped  buggy.  These  Sunday 
morning  eleven  o'clock  Christians  are  striped-buggy  fellows.  Some 
of  you  have  not  been  to  church  only  at  eleven  o'clock  Sunday  morn- 
ing for  years.  That  is  the  dress-parade  crowd.  These  striped- 
buggy  fellows !  If  you  were  to  hitch  them  up  to  a  prayer-meeting 
they  would  run  away.  If  you  were  to  hitch  one  of  them  up  to^ 
family  prayers  he  would  kick  the  buggy  all  to  pieces.  A  liberal, 
cheerful,  working  woman  is  worth  her  weight  in  diamonds  to  any 
community. 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  431 

Got  another  class.  The  class  that  will  go  out  to  battle  and  the 
very  first  shot  that  hits  them — "Ouch !" — and  they're  gone. 

Sometimes  a  captain  gets  shot.  "I  ain't  going  back  any  more 
and  get  shot." 

God  will  never  take  this  world  with  the  gang  He  has  got  on  it 
now. 

If  you'll  give  me  one  thousand  people  who  have  religion  like 
Peter,  James  and  John  I'll  take  this  town.  There's  plenty  of  people 
in  this  city  who  will  come  up  and  say,  "Stick  it  to  them.  Brother 
Jones.  You  can't  lay  it  on  too  hard,"  and  when  I  ask  them  to  come 
on,  they  say,  "My  wife  is  more  feeble  than  ever  before;  my  three 
children  are  down  with  influenza,  and  I  think  one  of  them  has  got 
heart  trouble." 

That's  the  way  of  it. 

The  wedding  over,  the  honeymoon  passed,  and  years  of  happi- 
ness come.  One  day  the  husband  began  to  drink.  There  is  a  vol- 
ume of  ten  thousand  pages  in  that  very  sentence.  If  woman  knew 
what  it  meant.  If  every  man  could  see  into  the  future.  He  could 
read  it  and  would  not  go  on. 

The  spirit  of  gentleness  and  the  spirit  of  temperance.  Be  not 
-only  temperate  in  regard  to  liquor,  but  be  a  total  prohibitionist  on 
that  subject. 

I  WANT  to  tell  you,  brethren,  that  it  takes  more  money  to  run  one 
old  red-nosed  drunkard  than  it  does  to  run  any  member  of  the 
church  in  this  city. 

Every  signature  put  to  a  license  in  this  city  by  the  authorities 
stamps  the  concurrence  of  every  voter  in  the  city  in  the  nefarious 
business.  The  bar  man  sells  the  drug  to  feed  his  wife  and  family, 
and  the  revenue  derived  from  licenses  goes  to  defray  some  petty 
matter  of  lighting  or  cleaning  the  streets.  The  bar  man  is  a  gentle- 
man and  you  are  the  guilty  parties.  If  I  were  going  to  sell  whisky 
I  would  come  to  Toronto,  the  nicest  city  in  the  world,  and  get  a 
license  from  the  Methodists,  Baptists  and  Presbyterians  in  author- 
ity.    When  I  died  I  would  tell  my  wife  to  put  the  license  in  my 


432  Sam  P.  Jones. 

coffin  that  I  might  have  it  when  the  Angel  Gabriel  sounded  the  last 
trumpet  to  awake  the  dead  to  judgment.  When  God  called  me  to 
account  I  would  pull  out  my  license,  signed  by  the  Christian  people 
of  Toronto,  which  I  paid  for,  and  which  authorized  me  to  sell 
whisl<y,  and  do  you  know  God  would  send  the  whole  shebang  into 
hell  together. 

I  WANT  to  see  a  man  who  drinks  whisky  and  never  told  a  lie 
about  it. 

The  girl  that  will  marry  a  boy  whose  breath  smells  with  whisky 
is  the  biggest  fool  angels  ever  looked  at. 

Ie  your  husband  loves  whisky  better  than  he  loves  you,  you  had 
better  get  away  from  him — the  sooner  the  better, 

SevKRAIv  told  me  that  they  drew  a  long  breath  of  relief  when  I 
announced  that  I  would  carry  on  a  prohibition  meeting. 

They  say:  "I  tell  you,  I  think  barrooms  are  better  than  blind- 
tigers."    They  v/ant  saloons  and  let  hell  flourish  and  heaven  rot. 

This  is  the  plain  English  about  the  matter. 

What  do  you  think  of  an  elder  who  has  to  think  of  the  question 
about  barrooms  before  he  can  answer?  When  you  ask  a  preacher 
he  says :  "Why,  I  consult  my  board,  and  if  they  are,  why  I  are  too." 

How  many  people  do  you  know  who  would  go  to  the  front  ranks 
and  spill  their  last  drop  of  blood  for  the  salvation  of  these  people 
here  in  this  city? 

I  don't  want  to  be  a  gentleman  if  I  have  to  get  drunk.    Do  you  ? 
No  man  can  be  a  Christian  and  drink  whisky. 
Whip  the  fight.     We  can  put  whisky  out  of  this  town  if  we  go 
in  to  whip  the  fight. 

A  EEIvLOW  said  to  me :  "I  can  raise  the  devil  as  well  as  you  can, 
but  I  always  get  licked."  I  told  him  he  had  better  stop.  There  is 
no  use  in  raising  the  devil  if  you  are  going  to  get  licked. 

I  never  will  be  satisfied  in  Georgia  till  we  put  legs  on  all  the  bar- 
rels and  demijohns  in  Atlanta  and  move  them  away  from  our  boys. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 


Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jonks  (Continued). 

How  did  I  become  a  drunkard?  By  drinking  wine  like  some  of 
you  do.  If  any  man  had  tasted  what  I  have  and  been  where  I  have 
been,  he'd  be  recreant  if  he  did  not  preach  as  I  do.  You  get  some 
letters  as  I  do  and  it  would  go  to  your  heart.  I'm  not  only  not  go- 
ing to  drink  but  I'll  fight  it  to  perdition,  and  when  perdition  freezes, 
then  I'll  fight  it  on  the  ice.  If  you  can  make  it  any  stronger  than 
that,  put  my  name  to  it. 

Nobody  but  an  infernal  scoundrel  will  sell  whisky,  and  nobody 
but  an  infernal  fool  will  drink  it. 

Because  you  are  reckless  and  can  rush  into  fearful  dangers  with- 
out a  quiver  of  the  muscles.  So  many  men  are  reckless.  An  Alpine 
hunter  shoulders  his  gun  and  walks  along  an  eight-inch  path,  while 
the  dog  beside  him  cjuivers  with  fear.  Don't  rush  into  the  face  of 
God  at  judgment  unprepared.  At  best,  we  have  only  threescore 
years  and  ten.  You,  with  your  constitutional  vigor,  may  go  to 
seventy  and  be  pouring  into  your  body  poison  all  the  time.  Strong 
drink  sends  many  a  man  to  his  grave  twenty  years  before  his  time. 
Men  are  greedy  to  be  lost,  and  anxious  for  damnation. 

Temperance  is  a  great  regulation  force  of  man's  life.  No  man 
can  drink  whisky  and  be  a  Christian.  Bob  Ingersoll,  the  worst 
in  the  country,  says  whisky  is  God's  worst  enemy  and  the  devil's 
best  friend.  I  never  got  so  low  down  as  to  discuss  a  man  who  drinks 
vile  lager  beer.  There  ain't  a  four-legged  hog  in  the  country  that'll 
drink  beer.  But  lots  of  two-legged  hogs  will.  And  the  ladies  are 
absolutely  drinking  beer  for  their  health.  Shame  on  them !  The 
only  hope  of  America  is  in  her  sober  mothers,  for  when  they  de- 
bauch themselves  their  children  will  be  born  full-fledged  drunkards. 

15 j  (433) 


434  Sam  P.  Jones. 

Faith  works  by  love,  purifies  the  heart,  and  overcomes  the 
world.    Have  you  got  that?    Then  you  have  got  hght. 

You  don't  believe  what  you  don't  see.  Did  you  ever  see  your 
backbone?  Some  men  believe  they  have  a  backbone,  when  it  is 
nothing  but  a  cotton  string  run  up  their  backs. 

There  are  two  different  kinds  of  faith.  There  is  a  faith  that  is 
always  in  a  receptive  attitude.  With  mouth  wide  open  and  hands 
extended,  about  all  you  hear  from  that  sort  is :  "Lord,  give  me 
something."  What  is  it  you  want?  "Oh,  just  something,  that  is 
all.  Just  give  me  something."  Everlastingly  on  the  beg.  And 
some  people  think  they  can  not  get  along  unless  they  are  begging 
all  the  time.  Look  here !  Did  I  tell  the  truth  when  I  said  God  was 
our  Father  and  we  His  children?  I  know  what  that  relation  is. 
Suppose  when  I  go  home  to  my  sweet  children  that  every  time  they 
come  around  me  they  are  begging:  "Papa,  please  give  me  some- 
thing; anything  you  please.  Please  give  me  something."  Con- 
tinually begging!  Why,  I  would  carry  a  brush  with  me  whenever 
I  went  home  and  give  them  a  good  whaling. 

The  hardest  thing  a  poor  fellow  ever  tried  to  do  in  this  world 
is  to  give  himself  to  God  just  as  he  is.  He  wants  to  fix  up  and 
brush  up  and  arrange  the  matter.  Oh,  how  we  do  hate  to  turn  just 
such  a  case  over  to  God !  We  would  like  to  make  him  about  half 
way  what  we  want  him  to  be  before  we  turn  him  over.  It's  the 
hardest  job  a  man  ever  undertook  to  turn  himself  over  to  God  just 
as  he  is. 

I  wiEE  choose  to  be  a  Christian  and  won't  bother  about  God's 
promises.     He  is  not  slow  to  do  His  part. 

There  are  ten  thousand  ways  to  hell  and  only  one  to  heaven,  but 
with  a  good  guide  we  need  have  no  fear  of  losing  our  way. 

The  difference  between  Christ  and  the  modern  preacher  is  that 
Christ  said,  "Follow  me,"  and  the  preacher  says,  "Get  down  there 
at  the  altar  and  agonize." 

Most  of  the  churches  of  this  country  are  in  the  wagon.     Some 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  435 

singing,  some  dancing,  some  cursing,  some  praying,  some  drink- 
ing, all  in  the  wagon,  and  the  little  poor  preacher  out  in  the  shafts. 

I  TELL  you  what  tickles  me :  to  see  an  old  sinner  come  in  and 
pull  out  an  old,  lame,  dwarf  member  of  the  church,  and  lay  him 
down  and  measure  by  him.  "Look  here,  boys;  I  am  as  long  and 
broad  and  good  as  this  member  of  the  church !"  I  would  die,  if  I 
was  a  decent  man,  to  lay  myself  down  by  the  side  of  such  a  man. 
Why  don't  you  go  and  pick  out  one  of  these  grand  old  Christians? 
You  would  look  like  a  rat  terrier  lying  beside  an  elephant.  You 
quit  measuring  by  these  dwarfs. 

Every  barroom  is  a  recruiting  office  for  hell. 

The  wife  either  makes  or  unmakes  her  husband. 

Sele-dedicaTory  love  is  the  very  bed-rock  and  foundation  upon 
which  you  can  build  a  happy  married  life. 

Take  the  marital  relations.  No  holier  or  diviner  institution  was 
ever  known  to  man.  Tamper  with  it  and  you  are  tampering  with 
the  very  foundation  of  society.  Our  mothers,  the  emblems  of  virtue, 
and  our  daughters  the  duplicate  of  their  mothers.  If  a  man  tam- 
pers with  virtue  down  there  it  means  two  charges  of  powder  and 
a  charge  of  buckshot. 

The  first  question  in  this  world  is  this  question :  "What  will  be- 
come of  my  children?"  I  notice  this  spring  that  little  Anna  has 
on  Mary's  dresses.  Little  Mary  has  outgrown  them.  I  notice  that 
little  Paul  has  on  Bob's  coat.  Bob  has  outgrown  it.  I  say,  "Wife, 
see  how  these  little  fellows  are  growing!"  but  they  are  growing 
a  heap  faster  in  my  heart.  When  they  are  young  they  step  oh 
our  toes,  and  when  they  are  grown  up  they  step  on  our  hearts.'  Oh, 
you  mothers  ought  to  go  in  partnership  with  God  in  rearing  your 
children ! 

Thank  God  for  these  singing,  shouting  mothers !  There  is 
music  in  their  voices. 


436  Sam  P.  Jones. 

God  pity  a  mother  that  has  to  send  her  children  to  a  dancing- 
school  to  learn  grace  and  manners. 

Lkt  me  say  in  all  kindness  the  reason  I  despise  card-playing, 
drinking,  dancing,  and  all  worldliness,  is  because  I  know  they  are 
the  subterfuges  of  the  devil  to  keep  us  from  thinking  about  our 
immortality.  If  there  is  no  harm  in  them,  they  will  curse  you  for- 
ever, because  they  will  keep  your  mind  off  things  that  will  save 
you  forever. 

Ie  I  had  ten  thousand  angels  to  preach  to  to-day,  every  word  I 
should  say  would  be  pure.  Our  Saviour  preached  to  men.  His 
sermon  on  the  Mount  would  not  have  had  so  much  in  it  about 
adultery  if  He  had  been  preaching  to  angels.  God  keep  me  dead 
honest  in  dealing  with  souls.  I  want  to  lay  my  gun  on  the  rail  and 
aim  straight.  If  I  hit  you  on  the  side,  I  did  not  mean  to  hit  you 
there,  but  right  square  in  the  head.  If  you  think  I  hit  you  acci- 
dentally, you  never  made  a  greater  mistake  in  your  life.  I  hit  you 
with  malice  aforethought. 

But  some  of  you  say,  "Now,  Jones,  you  are  too  hard  on  us. 
This  is  a  hard  country.  Everybody  looks  out  for  himself,  and  I 
am  obliged  to  live."  That's  a  lie.  You  ain't.  How  come  you  to 
think  you  are  obliged  to  live?  Why,  you  ain't  obliged  to  live  a 
minute,  but  you  are  obliged  to  do  right.  That's  one  excuse  for 
this  roundabout  way  of  serving  your  Almighty  God. 

Just  as  the  makers  of  a  piano  can  put  it  in  tune,  God  can  set  the 
Ten  Commandments  to  music  in  man's  soul,  and  all  will  blend 
in  perfect  beauty  and  harmony. 

We're  mighty  like  sheep.  The  tendency  of  a  sheep  is  to  stray 
off. 

When  you  have  spent  all,  it  seems,  so  far  as  you  are  concerned, 
that  nobody  else  has  anything. 

Ie  I  had  a  thousand  tongues  they  should  all  talk  for  Christ;  a 
thousand  hands,  they  should  all  work  for  Christ;  a  thousand  feet, 
I'd  put  them  all  in  the  way  to  heaven. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  437 

David  was  a  great  sinner,  but  he  was  a  first-class  repenter. 

What  the  alphabet  is  to  a  man  of  learning,  repentance  is  to  a 
man  going  to  heaven. 

God  don't  want  anybody  to  prove  anything  that  is  true. 

To  get  there  in  the  grandest  and  best  sense  of  the  word  is  to  have 
your  citizenship  on  earth  pass  you  to  your  citizenship  in  heaven. 

Sometimes  a  fellow  ain't  mad  about  what  he's  mad  about. 

A  MAN  will  not  confess  his  sins  before  he  quits  them. 

The  Lord  has  a  magnificent  army  on  dress  parade. 

I  LIKE  to  see  the  cross  fences  in  the  church  pastures  taken  down. 
I  like  to  see  the  Presbyterian  come  over  in  tlie  Methodist  pasture 
a  while  and  the  Methodist  go  over  and  feed  on  the  final  persever- 
ance grass  awhile.  Somehow  or  another  when  they  come  back  they 
stick  better. 

Good  Lord  make  us  so  earnest  fighting  the  devil  and  sin  that  we 
will  forget  which  our  church  is. 

A  Christian  girl  runs  a  great  risk  when  she  marries  a  sinner. 

There  are  few  men  in  this  world  better  than  their  wives. 

It  ain't  whose  wife  you  are,  but  what  sort  of  a  wife  that  fellow 
has  got  where  you  live. 

I  BEEiEVE  a  blessing  is  one  of  two  things.  It  is  either  given  by 
God  to  man  because  that  man  has  done  his  duty  and  God  has  paid 
him,  or  because  God  knows  he  has  determined  to  do  his  duty  and 
has  paid  him  on  credit. 

,    It  is  the  little  things  in  this  life  that  keep  up  the  worry. 

Reeigion_,  when  you  boil  it  down  to  a  concrete,  is  nothing  more 
than  something  to  do,  something  to  love,  and  something  to  hope 
for. 


CHAPTER  XLVL 


Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jone;s  (Continued). 

If  I  hew  to  the  Hne  and  let  the  chips  fly  where  they  will,  the 
people  say,  "Oh,  Sam  Jones  said  it.  He  can  say  anything."  Well, 
now,  if  I  can  say  anything  and  if  I  am  the  only  one  that  can,  then  I 
think  I  ought  to  keep  at  it  all  the  time. 

Some  people  think  they  can't  be  pious  unless  they  are  everlast- 
ingly begging  for  something. 

I  PRAY  for  my  daily  bread,  but  I  have  to  hunt  for  my  corn-pone 
with  the  sweat  running  down  the  hoe-handle. 

There  is  many  a  man  and  woman  in  this  house  who  have  tried 
to  raise  their  son  a  gentleman,  and  their  daughter  a  lady.  One  is 
twenty-one,  and  the  other  eighteen.  One  marries  and  moves  off 
to  himself.  He  is  not  a  Christian,  and  what  a  dangerous  thing  it 
is  to  project  a  boy  on  this  world  who  doesn't  know  Jesus  Christ. 
Your  daughter  marries.  She  knows  nothing  about  God  and  hope 
and  heaven.  She  goes  out  into  the  world  to  be  a  wife  and  mother 
of  a  home.  God  pity  the  home  when  a  mother  don't  know  God, 
and  where  the  wife  doesn't  know  Jesus  Christ.  Home  religion, 
home  piety.  Brethren,  I  say  it  with  all  the  earnestness  of  my  heart : 
I  would  rather  raise  a  true,  noble,  loyal  boy  to  Christ  and  the  right 
and  he  just  have  sense  enough  to  plow  a  straight  furrow,  than  to 
be  the  father  of  the  brightest  genius  in  America  or  in  this  dominion 
and  project  him  upon  the  world  a  dissipated  godless  wretch  that 
will  debauch  himself  and  set  a  bad  example  to  the  world.  It  is  not 
how  much  sense  the  boy  has  got,  but  how  much  religion ;  not  how 
well  have  you  trained  him  in  business,  but  how  close  does  he  live 
to  Jesus  Christ?  I'll  tell  you  another  thing :  When  a  father  hasn't 
left  his  boys  anything  but  money,  he. has  left  them  bankrupt. 

(43«) 


Sam  p.  Jones.  439 

A  MAN  of  conviction — who  says  a  thing  because  he  means  it, 
and  means  it  because  he  says  it!    I  Hke  that  kind  of  a  man. 

A  GREAT  many  people  think  that  a  man  has  to  go  to  an  altar  to 
be  saved.  Confidence  in  a  man  is  not  religion.  That  altar  business 
started  down  in  Georgia  about  sixty-nine  years  ago.  Where  did 
the  sinner  go  before  that  time?  Have  they  gone  to  hell  because 
they  did  not  go  to  the  altar?  A  man  who  believes  only  in  what  he 
can  see  doesn't  believe  he  has  got  a  backbone.  I  am  not  running 
on  understanding.  I  could  not  get  to  my  front  gate  on  understand- 
ing, but  I  could  get  from  earth  to  heaven  on  believing.  I  am  run- 
ning on  believing  now. 

Thank  God  for  a  bee-line  to  the  good  world!  Do  you  know 
what  a  bee-line  is?  The  bee,  after  going  from  flower  to  flower 
with  its  velvet  tread,  extracting  the  honey,  soars  above  the  tree-tops, 
and  makes  a  bee-line  for  its  hive.  Happy,  happy — thrice  happy — 
will  we  be  when,  after  extracting  all  the  sweets  out  of  this  life,  we 
can  soar  above  the  world,  and  make  a  bee-line  for  the  glory  land ! 

The  fact  is,  a  man  gets  religion  a  good  deal  like  he  gets  the 
measles.  A  fellow  gets  tangled  up  with  the  measles,  and  in  about 
ten  days  the  doctor  comes,  gives  him  a  cup  of  good  hot  tea,  and 
tells  him  to  keep  on  taking  that  until  it  breaks  out;  and  then  keep 
it  broke  out,  and  he  will  be  all  right.  So  some  of  you  have  got 
tangled  up  in  this  meeting  until  you  feel  as  bad  as  a  fellow  with  the 
measles  before  they  break  out.  A  few  hot  cups  of  gospel  tea  will 
make  religion  break  out  all  over  you.  Then  keep  it  out,  and  you  are 
all  right.  But,  like  the  measles,  if  it  goes  in  on  you,  it  will  kill  you, 
sure. 

God  never  does  anything  for  a  man  that  he  can  do  for  himself. 
The  Lord  is  too  busy  for  that — to  be  doing  things  for  men  that 
they  can  do  themselves.  God  never  quit  drinking  for  any  man; 
that  is  the  man's  own  lookout.  God  never  quit  lying  for  anybody; 
that  is  your  own  job.  God  never  quit  stealing  for  anybody;  that 
is  your  own  business  to  look  after. 


440  Sam  P.  Jones. 

The  church  is  the  last  place  to  be  solemn,  provided  you  have 
lived  right. 

Look  on  the  inside.  When  you  know  yourself  you  can  fight 
your  battle. 

You  know  what  a  sentinel  is  ?  He  can't  sleep.  You  are  the  same 
for  the  Lord  as  he  is  for  the  army. 

Ie  I  am  a  revivalist,  I've  grown  to  be  one  just  as  the  fingernails 
have  grown  on  my  fingers. 

You  pack  your  preachers  in  an  icehouse  and  abuse  them  all  the 
year  because  they  don't  sweat. 

Everything  they  say  about  me  helps  me.  If  they  lie  about  me, 

I'm  so  glad  it's  a  lie  that  I  can't  get  mad.  If  they  tell  the  truth 

about  me,  I'm  so  sorry  that  I  can't  get  mad.  So  I  always  keep  in  a 
good  humor. 

I  ONCE  knew  of  a  new  pastor  who,  upon  taking  charge  of  his 
church,  was  met  by  a  delegation  of  the  deacons  previous  to  deliver- 
ing his  inaugural  sermon.  They  said :  "Now,  brother,  you  musn't 
preach  about  fashion,  because  our  fashionable  members  will  be  out 
to  hear  you.  You  musn't  preach  about  dram-drinking  or  liquor- 
selling,  because  several  of  our  members  who  are  liquor-sellers  will 
be  out  to  hear  you.  You  musn't  preach  about  covetousness,  be- 
cause several  of  our  millionaire  members  will  be  out  to  hear  you." 
"Well,  what  can  I  preach  about?"  he  asked  in  great  perplexity. 
"About  the  Mormons,"  replied  the  good  deacons;  "give  'em  blazes; 
there  won't  be  a  Mormon  to  hear  you." 

Feeling  is  moral  perspiration. 

The  secret  of  a  happy  life  is  to  do  your  duty  and  trust  in  God. 

I'd  rather  die  on  a  well-fought  field  of  battle  than  run  away  and 
speculate  on  the  spoils  of  the  war. 

I  NEVER  see  a  woman  put  her  nose  at  me  but  I  say  to  myself: 
"All  right;    some  of  these  days  the  devil  will  foreclose  his  mort- 


Sam  p.  Jonks.  441 

gage  on  that  nose  and  get  the  whole  gal  with  it."  Whenever  you 
see  me  with  a  grubbing-hoe  on  my  shoulder  I'm  out  after  grubs, 
and  if  you  ain't  a  grub  sit  still — I'm  not  after  you.  Do  you  catch 
the  idea? 

When  you  think  a  preacher  has  got  wings  you  are  mistaken. 

Suppose  I  had  received  a  box  by  express.  It  is  iron  and  wood 
and  it  is  all  in  a  bunch  and  I  say  I  can't  make  out  what  it  is ;  put  it 
in  the  garret  with  the  rubbish.  A  day  or  two  after  I  get  a  book 
with  pictures  in  it  and  directions  how  to  put  my  machinery  to- 
gether, I  follow  the  directions  and  have  a  sewing-machine.  It  does 
its  work  like  a  thing  in  life.  The  man  that  made  that  machine 
made  the  book  and  the  man  that  made  the  book  made  the  machine. 
Listen !  Sixteen  years  ago  I  was  all  out  of  fix.  Sixteen  years  ago  I 
got  the  book  and  put  myself  together  and  I  have  been  running  all 
right  ever  since.  I  say  that  the  man  that  made  me  made  the  book 
and  the  man  that  made  the  book  made  me. 

ThKRE  are  some  people  who  like  to  be  a  hammer,  but  they  won't 
be  an  anvil.  We  preachers  are  all  willing  to  be  hammers  and  strike. 
The  softest  people  in  the  world  are  the  preachers  and  editors.  They 
are  always  pounding,  but  they  won't  be  pounded  on.  Those  who 
criticise  are  the  hardest  to  take  criticism.  I  don't  object  to  them 
pounding  me.  If  they  can  pound  me  I  can  pound  them.  If  your 
toes  are  stepped  on  just  grin  and  bear  it.  I  like  a  bulldog  the  best 
in  the  world.  You  can  hold  him  up  by  the  ears  two  days  and  he 
won't  whine.  I  wish  we  had  more  bulldog  in  us  and  less  bench- 
legged  fice.     Endure  affliction. 

Hovv^  can  we  win  souls  to  Christ  ?  Some  of  the  churches  say  rent 
the  pews.  My,  my,  my.  If  Sam  Jones  should  charge  admission 
they  would  get  up  and  say  he  was  making  merchandise  of  God's 
word. 

Show  me  a  church  that  does  not  believe  in  revivals  and  I  will 
show  you  a  church  that  looks  like  an  abandoned  cemetery.  Stag- 
nation !  Stagnation !  Stagnation !  Talk  about  enthusiasm !  We  are 
not  suffering  in  that  line.    Stagnation  is  the  last  station  this  side  of 


442  Sam  P.  Jon^s. 

damnation.  I  say  that  we  Methodists  and  Baptists  and  Presbyte- 
rians beheve  in  revivals.  We  go  for  them.  But  revivals  are  not  the 
best  things  in  the  world.  Rather  the  need  of  revival  is  a  proof  that 
we  are  not  right.  It  is  an  abnormal  state  of  things  that  makes  re- 
vivals necessary.  I  want  to  be  understood.  So  long  as  the  churches 
work  on  the  plan  they  now  work  on,  revivals  are  a  necessity.  What 
would  become  of  us  without  them  ? 

A  GREAT  many  people  object  to  pointed  preaching  because  it 
pains  them,  they  say.  This  suggests  the  story  of  the  old  lady  whose 
daughter's  tooth  ached.  She  sent  for  a  dentist.  He  came  and  pulled 
out  a  pair  of  big,  old-fashioned  forceps.  The  old  lady  screamed 
out,  "Don't  put  them  things  in  my  daughter's  mouth;  pull  it  out 
with  your  fingers !"  That  would  be  mighty  nice  if  it  could  be  done. 
God  bless  you  all !  if  you  will  let  me  get  the  old  gospel  forceps  hold 
of  these  teeth,  I  will  bring  them  out,  but  I  can  not  pull  them  with 
my  fingers.    I  want  that  understood. 

The  difference  between  the  devil  and  the  penitentiary  is,  that  the 
penitentiary  works  you  hard  and  boards  you,  but  the  devil  puts  yoa 
to  the  meanest,  dirtiest  jobs  in  the  world,  and  makes  you  board 
yourself. 

ShalIv  I  ask  you  little  dudes  and  dudines  how  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel? 

Ie  any  one  thinks  he  can't  stand  the  naked  truth  rubbed  on  a  lit- 
tle thicker  and  faster  than  he  ever  had  it  before,  he'd  better  get  out. 
of  here. 

Ie  negative  goodness  was  religion,  then  one  of  these  lamp-posts 
out  here  would  be  the  best  Christian  in  town ;  it  never  cursed,  nor 
swore;  not  drank  a  drop  since  it  was  made;  it  never  did  anything; 
wrong. 

The  lawyer  who  knows  as  little  about  Blackstone  and  the  Su- 
preme Court  reports  as  the  average  Christian  does  about  the  Bible 
would  never  have  but  one  case.  The  sheriff  would  be  his  next 
client. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 


Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones  (Continued). 

Look  here,  brother,  I  have  had  about  as  much  trouble  in  some 
<lays  of  my  Hfe  as  you  had,  but  I  never  took  more  trouble  to  bed 
with  me  than  I  could  knock  off  at  one  lick. 

Politicians  have  no  more  heart  than  a  Florida  alligator  or  a  so- 
ciety woman. 

When  you  dilly-dally  and  waver  about  religion,  let  me  tell  you, 
brethren,  the  devil  puts  you  down,  soul  and  body,  on  his  side  .  .  . 
As  men  live  so  they  die,  and  if  you  can't  afford  to  die  on  the  devil's 
side,  let  me  say  to  you  that  you  had  better  not  get  on  that  side  at 
all. 

I  HAVE  the  profoundest  contempt  for  those  colonels  and  majors 
and  judges  who  grace  our  curbstones  and  saloons.  They  have  noth- 
ing to  commend  them  to  God  but  their  money  and  their  means.  If 
there  is  anybody  I  want  to  see  go  to  heaven  it  is  poor  white  folks 
and  niggers. 

Do  you  know  what  a  cornstalk  revival  is  ?  Well,  if  you  were  to 
pile  up  a  lot  of  cornstaiks  as  high  as  this  house  and  burn  them  up 
there  would  not  be  a  hod  full  of  ashes.  We  want  a  revival  of 
righteousness.  We  want  a  revival  of  honesty.  We  want  a  revival 
:of  cleanliness  and  purity. 

I  KNOW  when  a  man  opens  his  mouth  on  the  ruinous  effects  of 
whisky  he  is  dubbed  a  "political  preacher,"  a  politician  drumming 
for  some  party.  I  don't  go  much  on  party  myself.  That's  so.  I 
want  the  political  parties  of  this  country  to  crawl  up  out  of  the 
mud  and  wash  themselves  from  head  to  foot  and  put  on  clean 
•clothes  before  I  have  anything  to  do  with  them. 

(443) 


444  Sam  P.  Jonks. 

HEiviy  is  the  center  of  gravity  for  wickedness ;  heaven  is  the  cen- 
ter of  gravity  for  righteousness.  This  is  the  Hneage  of  damnation, 
and  the  hneage  of  salvation. 

There  are  more  little  lawyers  in  this  city  who  think  that  if  they 
missed  being  at  court,  justice  would  be  overruled  and  constitutional 
government  destroyed.  There  are  doctors  who  don't  have  three 
cases  a  week  who  think  that  if  they  miss  an  hour  from  their  office 
the  whole  town  would  break  out  in  yellow  fever,  smallpox  and  the 
like.     Poor  little  fellows. 

What  is  a  military  general  worth  to  his  country  who  never  fires 
a  gun  or  gives  an  order  ?    That's  the  way  to  look  at  it. 

.  Ie  you  think  the  world  needs  you  you're  a  fool.  You  die  and 
they  lay  you  out  here  and  the  world  moves  on  as  though  you  were 
never  born. 

When  a  man  is  bragging  that  his  father  is  a  colonel,  you  may 
put  it  down  that  his  father  is  ashamed  of  him. 

Ignorance  is  round  as  a  ball  and  slick  as  a  button;  it's  got  no 
handle  to  it  and  you  can't  manage  it. 

Foolishness  is  the  stuff  what  you  rub  on  fools. 

Let's  make  it  fashionable  to  love  God  and  keep  His  command- 
ments. 

When  God  gives  a  man  a  good  wife  and  fifteen  children  or  so, 
he's  all  right;  when  the  devil  gives  him  a  society  woman,  and  a 
poodle  dog,  he's  in  a  bad  way. 

Society  is  a  heartless  old  wretch ;  and  if  you  don't  get  out  of  it 
you  will  go  to  hell  with  it. 

Methodism  never  could  do  much  at  being  fashionable. 

You  will  go  to  the  store  and  give  four  dollars  a  yard  for  a  piece 
of  goods — and  the  more  it  costs  the  better  you  like  it — and  then 
you  will  go  over  to  Sister  Brown,  a  poor,  good  woman  in  your 


Sam  p.  Jones.  445 

church,  and  give  her  half  a  dollar  for  making  it;  and  if  the  devil 
doesn't  get  you  it  is  because  he  ain't  got  anything  against  Sister 
Brown.  The  meanest  woman  in  the  world  is  the  woman  who  will 
give  four  dollars  a  yard  for  her  dress,  and  then  go  over  to  that 
poor  old  woman  who  is  a  member  of  her  church  and  jew  her  down 
to  the  last  nickel  she  can  get  her  to  make  it  for. 

A  GREAT  many  people,  with  what  little  religion  they  have,  will 
run  out  in  the  corner  and  sit  down  and  say,  "God  save  me  and  my 
wife,  and  my  son  John  and  his  wife,  us  four  and  no  more !"  That 
is  the  sort  of  religion  that  is  cursing  the  world. 

Christian,  if  you  don't  do  the  clean  things  they  will  jump  on 
you.  If  you  don't  live  up  to  what  you  profess,  l;he  meanest  sinner 
in  the  town  will  point  the  finger  of  scorn  at  you.  Don't  forget  that ! 
If  a  horse  is  sound,  he  don't  mind  being  currycombed;  but  if  he 
is  not  sound  and  has  any  tender  spots,  he  will  kick  and  bite  when 
the  comb  is  run  over  his  hide.  Why,  if  he's  sound,  he'll  just  lean  up 
against  the  comb  and  enjoy  it.  That's  the  way  it  is  with  the 
Christian.  He  don't  mind  criticisms  if  he's  all  right,  but  he'll  kick 
and  squirm  if  he  ain't.    Yes,  he  will. 

There  is  a  class  in  this  community  that  I  have  a  hearty  con- 
tempt for,  and  yet  I  pity  them.  They  come  up  to  the  preacher  and 
tell  him  to  scratch  off  their  names.  They  are  goin'  to  quit.  Ain't 
goin'  to  try  any  longer.  What  would  you  think  of  a  man  that 
would  get  trusted  every  day  at  your  store  for  a  year,  and  then 
walk  in  on  Christmas,  owing  you  five  dundred  dollars  and  tell  you 
to  scratch  off  his  name ;  he  is  going  to  Texas  ?  You  would  tell  him 
to  go  to  Texas  or  to  perdition.  You  would  want  your  five  hundred 
dollars.  Yet  this  man  comes  into  the  church  and  lives  five  or  six 
years,  and  has  had  a  thousand  blessings,  and  yet  he  says  he  is  go- 
ing to  quit.  Going  to  quit  telling  the  truth;  quit  staying  sober; 
quit  being  a  man,  and  going  to  be  a  dog.  If  you  take  a  small  auger 
and  bore  into  that  man,  you  won't  bore  very  long  until  you  dis- 
cover he  is  all  dog  but  his  hide. 

Here  are  a  hundred  before  me  who  have  promised  God,  in  time 


446  Sam  P.  Jones. 

of  extremity,  they  would  do  better.  Sister,  you  promised  it  to  him 
on  your  death-bed,  if  he  would  restore  you.  That  is  what  discounts 
death-bed  repentances.  Men  get  well  from  their  death-beds  and 
never  do  any  better.  They  have  lived  and  never  did  better,  and  I 
am  afraid  when  they  died  they  were  lost. 

There)  is  so  much  sham  in  this  country — a  religion  with  a  brown 
stone  front  and  brickbat,  mortar  and  stick  back.  Let's  have  a 
brown-stone  religion  all  around. 

I  KNOW  of  one  church  when  twenty  were  praying  for  the  millen- 
nium and  two  hundred  were  playing  for  the  booby  prize  in  a  pro- 
gressive euchre.  Such  Christians  as  that  would  not  be  in  heaven 
SIX  months  before  they  would  be  gambling  for  each  other's  crown. 

What  is  a  little  party  ?  It  is  nothing  but  a  big  party  with  short 
clothes  on.  What  is  a  big  party  ?  It  is  nothing  in  the  world  but  the 
anteroom  to  a  ballroom.  And  what  is  a  ballroom  ?  It  is  the  ante- 
room to  a  german.  And  what  is  a  german  ?  It  is  the  anteroom  to 
eternal  disgrace.  And  what  is  eternal  disgrace?  It  is  hell-fire. 
Now  you  see  how  it  goes. 

A  WOMAN  who  had  seen  the  german  said  to  me :  "Mr.  Jones,  you 
can  tell  the  world  it  is  nothing  but  hugging  set  to  music."  A  boy 
at  a  dance  was  asked  by  his  companion  to  get  up  and  dance.  "No," 
said  he,  "let's  sit  down  and  hug."     I  like  that  boy's  grit. 

Ie  you  will  testify  that  dancing  helps  you  to  be  religious,  and 
helps  you  to  be  good,  and  helps  you  to  live  right ;  if  you  will  testify 
so,  in  order  that  we  may  have  one  way,  we  will  adopt  the  dancing 
route  and  a  dancing-hall  in  every  member's  house,  and  will  have 
movable  pews  in  the  church  and  every  Wednesday  night  will  move 
the  pews  and  have  a  dancing  meeting.  If  dancing  is  a  good  thing 
let's  all  assist;  if  it's  not,  let's  all  give  it  up. 

Ie  there  is  a  thing  in  this  world  I  have  the  profoundest  contempt 
for,  it's  the  infernal  dancing-master  going  through  the  land  de- 
spoiling the  young  people  of  our  country. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  447 

God  never  gave  a  woman  a  child  to  debauch  it  by  sending  it  to  a 
dancing-school  kept  by  an  old  hook-nosed  Frenchman. 

Go  into  a  ballroom  with  your  Christian  light.  It  will  go  out.  It 
won't  burn  there. 

Some  people  will  forego  their  religious  happiness  and  their  relig- 
ious usefulness  for  the  sake  of  having  three  dances  a  year.  A  wo- 
man goes  and  she  dances.  She  goes  again  and  dances,  and  dances, 
and  dances,  until  she  opens  her  eyes  in  hell — but  she  danced. 

Sow  little  parties-  and  reap  big  ones.  Sow  these  and  reap  ball- 
rooms. Sow  these  and  reap  germans,  and  from  these  reap  spider- 
legged  dudes,  and  from  these  you'll  reap  a  half  thimbleful  of 
calves'  foot  jelly. 

The  woman  that  never  helped  the  Lord  never  got  much  help 
from  the  Lord.  The  best  way  to  help  yourself  is  to  help  somebody 
else.  You  take  society  about  this  town.  If  I  had  the  money  that 
the  Christian  women,  so-called,  pay  at  the  theater  during  the  year, 
I  could  run  every  charitable  institution  in  this  town  grandly.  That 
is  a  fact.  You  can't  walk  to  church — it  is  too  far;  but  you  will 
walk  the  next  night  a  third  farther  to  the  theater,  and  your  husband 
does  not  really  want  to  go.  Let  us  try  and  reform  ourselves  on  this 
line. 

LiEE^s  in  a  community.  Here  is  a  theater  on  this  street.  Here 
i.T  a  prayer-meeting  across  the  way.  There  they  go,  and  you  can 
not  tell  whose  dogs  they  are  to  save  your  life.  But  when  they  get 
to  the  intersection  of  the  streets,  and  they  turn  toward  the  theater 
or  toward  the  prayer-meeting  you  know  who  are  the  devil's  dogs, 
and  who  belong  to  the  Lord.  There  is  no  use  saying  any  more 
about  it  for  the  forks  of  the  road  tell  whose  dogs  they  are. 

A  MAN  once  asked  me  how  long  it  had  been  since  I  had  been  at  a 
theater.  I  told  him  I  had  not  been  at  the  theater  since  I  had  quit 
being  a  vagabond. 

And  there  are  women  in  St.  Louis  that  will  go  and  hear  things 
in  the  theater  whose  tendencies  are  the  most  vulgar  of  the  vulgar. 


448  Sam  P.  Jones. 

and  she  will  be  tickled  all  over,  and  she  will  come  to  the  church  and 
she  will  have  her  poor  little  nerves  all  shocked  to  pieces  at  some- 
thing Sam  Jones  says,  and  she  will  turn  up  her  nose  at  me,  and  I  can 
always  tell  when  the  devil  has  got  a  mortgage  on  a  woman's  nose. 
It  is  alwa3^s  turning  up.  And  he  is  going  to  foreclose"  it  some  of 
these  days,  too,  sister,  and  he  will  get  the  gal  when  he  gets  the  nose. 

Put  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  by  you  in  a  theater  and  see  how  he 
looks  at  certain  things  said  in  that  theater;  and  there  are  Meth- 
odists in  this  house,  and  members  in  all  the  churches  that  patronize 
those  places,  and  if  they  were  to  go  into  your  parlor  the  next  day 
and  say  the  things  they  heard  there  the  night  before,  you  would 
kick  them  over  your  front  gate. 

And  I  say  to  you  to-day,  God  never  prayed  in  any  man's  fam.ily 
for  him ;  God  never  took  up  anybody's  cross  for  him.  There  is  a 
great  deal  of  this  work  of  salvation  on  your  own  shoulders,  and  my 
great  desire  is  to  take  hold  of  men  and  pull  them  up  where  God  can 
save  them.  I  say  it  is  a  moral  impossibility  for  God  to  take  a  man 
to  heaven  when  every  step  of  that  man's  life  is  doAvnward  and  hell- 
ward. 

Salvation  or  damnation  is  a  personal  matter.  Nobody  will  die 
for  you;  nobody  will  stand  in  your  place  at  the  judgment  bar  of 
God. 

Going  to  heaven  is  just  like  riding  a  bicycle.  You  have  to  keei> 
a-going  to  keep-a-going.  You  got  to  keep  a-moving— you  can't 
stop. 

I  PUT  Christianity  and  infidelity  together  here  and  say,  "Chris- 
tianity, what  have  you  done?"  "I  have  come  into  the  world  on  a 
commission  of  mercy.  I  have  founded  orphan  asylums.  I  have 
brought  peace  to  many  a  soul."  "Infidelity,  is  that  true?"  "Yes, 
that  is  so."  "What  are  you  doing,  Infidelity?"  "I  am  fighting 
Christianity."  I  had  rather  be  a  convict  than  to  have  a  job  like 
that. 

A  MAN  or  a  chicken  is  no  good  without  sand  in  his  gizzard. 


CHAPTER  XLVIIL 


Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones  (Continued). 

Here's  your  logic :  Because  God  is  good  Til  sin  and  keep  on  fight- 
ing him.  I  am  sorry  we  ever  fired  a  gun  on  that  grand  old  flag  at 
Fort  Sumter.  But  Beauregard  did  it.  He  turned  his  guns  on  it, 
and  the  guns  were  answered ;  back  and  forth  went  shot  and  shell  till 
the  walls  crumbled  and  were  laid  low.  All  at  once  a  white  flag 
went  up  from  the  center  of  the  fort.  Beauregard  said :  ''Boys,  roll 
back  your  guns  and  get  your  boats  and  don't  suffer  a  hair  on  the 
head  of  those  men  to  be  touched."  Well,  God  has  been  firing  at 
this  old  world  and  we've  been  answering  back  hard,  and  many  of 
our  fathers  and  mothers  have  gone  down  in  the  struggle.  God 
turned  his  big  guns  on  us.  I  say  let's  run  up  the  white  flag.  If  we 
do.  He  will  say  to  his  angels :  "Roll  back  your  guns,  go  down  and 
take  the  bread  of  heaven  and  give  it  to  them.  See  to  it  that  the  sun 
does  not  smite  them  by  day,  nor  the  moon  touch  them  by  night." 
Who'll  run  up  the  white  flag  to-night  ? 

Pm  really  glad  that  our  salvation  does  not  depend  upon  our  be- 
lieving this  or  that  creed.  Many  preachers  devote  most  of  their  ef- 
forts to  showing  that  their  creed  is  the  only  right  creed,  and  defend- 
ing it,  instead  of  preaching  Christianity  to  dying  men.  I  am  sorry 
for  the  preachers  who  have  a  creed  that  needs  defense.  The  Meth- 
odist creed  can  not  be  swallowed  by  a  great  many  men;  the  Pres- 
byterian creed  won't  go  down  with  a  great  many  wise  people;  nor 
will  the  Catholic  or  any  other  creed.  When  we  boil  it  down  it 
comes  to  just  this :  God  never  said  that  believers  in  the  first  five 
points  of  Calvin  should  be  saved,  nor  he  who  believes  in  the  im- 
mersion, nor  he  who  believes  in  the  sprinkling,  nor  that  he  who 
believes  in  the  final  perseverance,  nor  that  he  believes  in  the  im- 

(449) 


450  .    Sam  P.  Jones. 

mutability  of  the  Pope,  nor  that  he  who  beHeves  in  apostohc  suc- 
cession— shall  be  saved,  but  "Whosoever  believeth  on  Jesus  Christ 
shall  be  saved." 

Some  say,  "My  trouble  is  doubt."  If  you  will  take  hold  of  your 
doubt  and  pull  it  up  by  the  roots,  you  will  find  a  seed  at  the  bottom, 
and  that  seed  is  sin.  If  you  will  empty  your  hearts  and  meet  the 
conditions  then  the  doubts  will  be  gone. 

Ie  you  quit  sinning  you  will  quit  doubting. 

InEidEUTy  can  grow  only  on  the  soil  littered  by  the  lives  of  un- 
faithful members  of  the  church.  That's  it.  Oh,  for  the  faith  that 
takes  God  in  as  He  is.  The  man  who  don't  believe  is  a  mere  pigmy 
in  the  church.  I  believe  the  Bible  just  as  it  was  written,  and  I  be- 
lieve that  the  whale  swallowed  Jonah.  I  would  have  believed  it 
just  the  same  if  it  had  said  that  Jonah  swallowed  the  whale.  I've 
got  no  better  sense  than  to  believe  the  Bible.  Call  me  a  fool  for  it, 
and  I'm  a  happy  fool. 

I  BEiviEvE  every  word  in  the  Bible.  I  accept  everything  between 
the  lids  of  the  Book.     I  have  good  reasons  for  my  faith. 

The  best  thing  a  man  can  do  in  this  world  is  to  do  right,  the 
worst  thing  a  man  can  do  is  to  do  wrong. 

I  WANT  to  be  a  true  man — a  man  in  the  pulpit,  at  home,  every- 
where and  under  all  circumstances.  If  I  were  to  become  satisfied 
to-morrow  that  the  pulpit  was  absolutely  shaking  the  foundations 
of  my  manhood  I  would  come  out  of  it,  because  I  would  rather  be 
one  true  man  than  forty  preachers,  and  I  want  to  get  out  of  the  pul- 
pit just  one  day  beforehand. 

Every  true  man  is  an  eternal  millionaire. 

I  HAD  rather  be  a  man  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word  than  the 
best  angel  in  heaven. 

Reputation  is  cheap.  Reputation  is  like  the  glove.  I  may  put  it 
on  my  hand  or  take  it  off,  or  rend  it  to  pieces  and  throw  it  away,  and 


•Sam  p.  Jones.  451 

not  feel  the  loss  of  it.  But  character  is  the  hand  itself;  and  when 
once  it  is  scarred  it  is  scarred  forever.  Character  is  immortal. 
Character  shall  live  on  beyond  the  stars.  Character  shall  live  as 
long  as  God  lives.  Character-building  is  the  one  work  of  true  men 
in  this  world.  I  used  to  want  religion,  when  I  was  a  sinner,  to 
keep  me  out  of  hell.  I  used  to  think  that  I  would  love  to  have  re- 
ligion that  I  might  get  to  heaven.  But  heaven  and  hell  are  both 
secondary  with  me  now.     I  want  religion  now  and  forevermore. 

A  MAN  wants  a  soul  big  enough  for  God  and  the  angels  and  all 
men  to  come  in  and  live  with  him, 

Ii^  a  man  believes  he  is  right  the  next  thing  he  wants  is  courage 
that  will  dare  to  do  right. 

I  GET  disgusted  with  some  little  fellows  who  are  always  talking 
that  they  preach  Christ,  and  nothing  but  Christ,  to  sinners.  I  would 
as  soon  preach  Socrates  to  an  unconvicted  sinner  as  to  preach 
Christ.  He's  got  just  about  as  much  use  for  one  as  the  other.  The 
law  of  God  is  a  great  moral  force  which  moves  the  world  and  the 
law  is  what  ought  to  be  preached  first,  that  conviction  may  follow. 

The  devil  has  no  better  servant  than  a  preacher  who  is  laying 
feather-beds  for  fallen  Christians  to  light  on. 

There  is  one  preacher  in  this  .town  that  won't  come  to  these 
meetings,  but  he  says  he  is  a-praying  for  Sam  Jones's  success — and 
won't  come  here.  Praying  for  Christ  to  associate  with  a  man  he 
won't.  Too  much  of  a  gentleman.  Win  souls  for  Christ,  that's 
the  evangelist's  work.    You  say  you  can't  find  sinners.    A  Christian 

in that  can't  find  sinners.    My,  my,  my,  you  can't  find  them  ? 

Ain't  you  a  dandy?  There  are  three  kinds  of  setter  dogs.  One  a 
cover  dog;  one  a  single-bird  dog;  one  a  retriever.  One  will  flush 
up  whole  droves  of  birds  at  once.  Another  kind  will  just  get  up  one 
at  a  time  and  you  can  kill  them  every  pop.  The  retriever  will  go  out 
and  find  them  and  bring  them  to  you.  Now,  which  are  you  going 
to  be  ?  I  wish  you  were  more  like  setter  dogs,  spiritually  speaking, 
I  mean.  Now,  don't  you  go  and  get  mad  and  say  that  I  compared 
you  to  dogs.    I  wouldn't  hurt  the  dog's  feelings. 


452  Sam   P.  Jon:es. 

I'd  rather  be  a  man  than  a  dignified  preacher, 

I  WANT  to  be  a  good  man  and  -a  good  husband,  but  God  keep  me- 
from  being  a  "nice"  preacher. 

The  greatest  blessing  that  ever  crowned  an  American  or  a  Cana- 
dian church  is  a  "game"  preacher  that  is  not  afraid  of  man  or 
devil. 

I  wouivD  rather  associate  with  a  dog  than  with  a  profane  swearer.  - 
This  may  sound  strange ;  but  I  know  what  I  am  talking  about.     A 
man  may  associate  with  a  dog  until  he  becomes  doggish;    but  a 
swearer  can  make  him  hellish.    A  man's  affinities  determine  who  he 
is,  and  what  he  is. 

Many  a  man  will  lie  down  in  hell  and  say :  "My  tongue  damned  i 
me." 

You  may  baptize  a  man  all  over,  but  his  tongue  will  come  out  as  ■ 
dry  as  powder. 

The)  Scriptures  teach  me  clearly  that  my  life  can  never  be  better 
than  my  heart.     The  Scriptures  teach  me  that  a  bad  tree  can  not : 
bring  forth  good  fruit;    neither  can  a  good  tree  bring  forth  bad 
fruit.    It  also  teaches  me  that  no  salt  fountain  can  send  forth  fresh  ■. 
water;   neither  can  a  fresh  fountain  send  forth  salt  water. 

Two  years  or  more  ago  I  walked  through  John  Wanamaker's  - 
store  in  Philadelphia.    He  told  me  some  days  he  had  three  thousand 
clerks.  Ten  thousand  customers  buying  goods  all  at  one  time.   I  say, . 
"You've  got  everything,  ain't  you?"    He  replies,  "Mr.  Jones,  I  have  - 
worked  for  years  to  complete  my  store  so  that  a  customer  can  find 
everything  he  wants.    That's  where  my  customers  get  their  dinner. 
I've  got  it  fixed  so  that  a  man  does  not  need  to  go  out  for  his  meal." 
'God  Almighty  was  four  hundred  years  getting  up  this  Book  and 
every  want  of  the  universe  can  be  supplied  out  of  this  Book.     If  I 
had  the  billions  of  men  of  earth  before  me  I  would  refer  them  to 
this  precious  Book.     Here's  a  blesed  balm  for  every  wound,  a  cure 
for  every  ill.     Thank  God  for  this  precious  Book,  divinely  written  . 
and  divinely  given  to  save  the  world. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  453 

This  is  the  Book  of  books.  This  is  the  Book  of  knowledge. 
This  is  the  Book  which  tells  how  to  get  to  heaven.  Glory  to  God 
for  this  precious  Book.  My  mother  lived  by  its  precepts  and  pil- 
lowed her  head  upon  it.  It  was  the  Book  of  my  father  and  the  light 
of  his  home. 

TaIvK  about  Ingersoll,  I  never  met  an  intelligent  man  yet  that 
had  been  damned  by  Robert  Ingersoll.  The  only  difference  in 
Ingersoll  and  any  other  fellow  running  after  him  is  this :  Ingersoll 
plays  the  fool  for  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  night,  and  this  little 
fellow  runs  after  him  and  plays  the  fool  for  nothing  and  boards  him- 
self. And  I  tell  you  that  Ingersoll  is  going  to  continue  to  play  that 
kind  of  fool  as  long  as  this  country  gives  him  fifteen  hundred  dol- 
lars per  night. 

I  NEVER  met  a  sinner  in  all  my  work  who  said  that  Bob  Ingersoll 
stood  in  his  way  of  coming  to  Christ.  I  never  met  a  sinner  who 
was  bothered  about  Ingersoll's  blatant  tomfoolery.  If  I  did,  I  would 
say :  "Old  fellow,  you  need  not  trouble  about  getting  religion ;  you 
have  not  sense  enough;  God,  in  my  opinion,  will  take  you  into 
heaven  at  a  side-door." 

I  WANT  to  see  the  day  in  this  country  when  no  decent  woman 
will  put  anything  on  her  table  that  will  made  a  fool  of  her  husband. 
The  biggest  fool  woman  in  this  State  is  the  woman  who  will  go  to 
the  closet  and  get  the  demijohn  and  bring  it  out  and  fix  up  a  drink 
for  her  husband.  You  have  not  sense  enough  to  keep  out  of  the 
fire;    your  place  is  in  the  lunatic  asylum. 

I  HAVE  never  been  converted,  if  a  man  must  believe  something 
afterward  that  he  didn't  believe  before. 

Keep  my  boy  poor  and  honest,  and  let  him  die  a  fool.  If  you 
are  doing  wrong,  quit  it. 

I  NEVER  had  much  confidence  in  a  man  that  would  do  things  in 
New  York  that  he  wouldn't  do  at  home.  You  have  some  of  that 
sort  here.  A  fellow  that  is  sober  as  a  judge  at  home,  when  he  goes 
on  a  fishing  tour  can  not  get  along  without  a  jug  of  whisky;  and 
he  drinks  it  all  the  way  along  and  claims  to  be  pious. 


464  Sam  P.  Jone;s. 

The  roar  of  commerce,  the  click  of  the  telegraph,  and  the  whistle 
of  the  engine  have  well-nigh  drowned  out  the  voice  of  God.  But, 
amid  all  these  rough  trials  and  present  transactions,  it  is  well 
enough  to  put  our  hand  up  to  our  ear  now  and  then  and  look  up  and 
hear  what  God  has  to  say.  Let  us  listen  to  that  still  small  voice  that 
never  misled  a  man  a  step,  and  never  deceived  a  man's  soul ;  let  us 
listen  to  that  voice  which,  if  you  hear  it  aright,  will  make  you  wise 
unto  salvation. 

The  great  curse  of  the  world  to-day  is  not  out  of  the  church,  but 
in  it.  I  know  I  touch  upon  ground  that  may  bring  out  resentment, 
but,  brethren,  the  harder  and  louder  I  say  this  the  more  I  resemble 
my  Divine  Master.  He  gave  the  "amen  corners"  bringes  when- 
ever he  met  them.  Every  denunciatory  sentence  He  uttered  was 
to  the  church,  to  the  members  of  the  church.  But  to  the  sinner  he 
says:  "You  are  like  the  lost  sheep  which  the  shepherd  sought  and 
bore  home  on  his  shoulder."  He  didn't  kick  or  beat  the  sheep,  for 
it  could  not  stand  it.  But  he  thundered  his  reproof  to  the  Scribes, 
Pharisees  and  Publicans.  All  we  want  is  a  church  like  Christ  wants, 
to  march  forth  and  win  the  world  for  Him.  God  grant  us  power 
to  go  out  in  the  spirit  of  grace  and  bring  back  the  lost  sheep.  It 
would  be  healthy  if  every  member  of  the  church  would  ask  him- 
self these  questions :  "Suppose  every  other  member  was  like  me, 
how  would  the  spirit  of  prayer  succeed?  how  would  the  expenses 
be  paid?  how  much  sympathy  would  the  pastor  receive?"  It 
wouldn't  be  long  before  you  came  to  this  conclusion :  "Here  is  the 
biggest  humbug  God  Almighty  allows  to  live  in  the  church."  I 
can  stand  a  railroad  humbug,  a  business  humbug,  a  newspaper  hum- 
bug, but  God  deliver  me  from  a  religious  humbug.  I  believe  it 
was  at  Princeton  that  some  young  fellows  tried  to  fool  a  professor 
who  was  a  bugologist  and  knew  bugs  from  creation  down.  Thev 
made  up  a  bug  from  the  head,  wings,  feet  and  legs  of  different 
bugs,  and  taking  it  to  him,  said,  "What  kind  of  a  bug  is  this  ?"  He 
replied,  "Why,  that's  a  humbug."  Now,  take  the  hands  of  a  swin- 
dler, the  head  of  a  keen  trickster  and  the  mouth  of  a  saint,  put  them 
together  and  you  have  the  biggest  kind  of  a  humbug. 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 


Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones  (Continued). 

DoN^T  worry  about  your  money.  God  bless  you,  bud,  they'll  haul 
you  off  in  a  shroud  without  a  pocket — and  if  it  had  a  pocket  your 
arm  would  be  too  stiff  to  get  into  it. 

There  are  four  things  you  can  appeal  to  in  a  boy — his  sense  of 
honor,  his  conscience,  his  pride,  and,  lastly,  his  hide. 

Ie  the  public  has  to  educate  your  kid  th'e  public  should  have  the 
right  to  lick  your  kid. 

You  fool  clerks  who  gamble,  you  go  to  these  upstairs  rooms  and 
let  them  milk  you  and  turn  you  loose — just  like  the  farmer  does  the 
cow.  Only  the  cow  has  got.  more  sense  than  you.  The  cow  gets 
the  grass  and  you  get  nothing. 

We  see  God  all  around  us.  The  mountains  are  God's  thoughts 
piled  up.  The  rivers  are  God's  thoughts  in  motion.  The  oceans, 
are  God's  thoughts  embedded.  The  dewdrops  are  God's  thoughts 
in  pearls. 

I  BEEiEVE  that  the  whale  swallowed  Jonah,  and  the  only  reason  I 
don't  believe  that  Jonah  swallowed  the  whale  is  because  the  Bible 
don't  say  so. 

He  has  either  a  mighty  long  head  or  a  mighty  short  creed  who 
believes  only  what  he  understands. 

Repentance  is  the  first  conscious  movement  of  the  soul  from 
sin  toward  God. 

Thank  God  this  old  world  has  never  seen  the  time  when  it  did 
not  take  its  hat  off  and  make  a  decent  bow  to  a  good  woman. 

(455) 


456  Sam  P.  Jones. 

I  didn't  say  a  clerk  who  gambles  will  steal — I  just  'most  said  it. 

I  BEWEVE  the  greatest  moral  m.onstrosity  in  the  universe  is  an 
impious  woman.  I  can  understand  how  men  can  be  wicked,  and 
turn  their  backs  on  God,  and  live  in  sin;  but  the  greatest  moral 
monstrosity  is  a  woman  w^ith  the  tender  arms  of  her  children 
around  her,  their  eyes  looking  up  into  her  eyes  with  innocent  love, 
and  that  mother  despising  God  in  her  heart. 

Reeigion  is  like  measles;  if  it  goes  in  on  you  it  will  kill  you. 
The  trouble  with  a  great  many  Christians  in  this  city  is,  religion  has 
gone  in  on  them.     Keep  it  broke  out  on  hands,  feet  and  tongue. 

Every  day  ought  to  keep  good  company.  There  is  not  an  angel 
in  heaven  that  would  not  be  corrupted  by  the  company  that  some  of 
you  keep. 

In  a  Georgia  town  a  number  of  girls  married  men  to  reform  them ; 
now  the  town  is  full  of  little  whippoorwill  widows. 

Whisky  is  a  good  thing  in  its  place,  and  that  place  is  in  hell. 

The  capacity  of  a  woman  for  making  everybody  about  her  un- 
comfortable can  not  be  calculated  by  any  known  process  of  arith- 
metic. 

The  Christian  who  will  do  things  in  New  York  that  he  would 
not  do  at  home  is  a  very  poor  Christian. 

It  takes  less  sense  to  criticise  than  to  do  anything  else.  There 
are  a  great  many  critics  in  the  asylum. 

I  don't  think  much  of  dignity.  My  observation  is  that  the  more 
dignity  a  man  has  the  nearer  dead  he  is. 

There  are  three  thousand  guilty  men  in  this  audience  to-night, 
and  if  they  thought  they  were  going  to  be  found  out,  there  would 
be  an  awful  dusting  out  of  town  before  to-morrow  night. 

When  you  find  a  man  that  is  first-class  at  some  one  thing,  you 
will  find  him  pretty  good  for  everything  else. 


Mr.  Jones  Playing  Golf  at  Winona  Lake,  Ind. 


Mr.  Jones  and  Gen.  Booth  at  a  Chautauqua. 


Mr.  Jones  in  the  Country.  Mr.  Jones  and  Senator  Patrick  Walsh. 

A  CHARACTERISTIC  GROUP. 


LAST  PHOTOGRAPH  OF  RivV.  AND  MRS.  SAM  P.  JONES. 


Sam  p.  Jonks.  457 

You  don't  believe  what  you  don't  understand?  Do  you  under- 
stand why  some  cows  have  horns  and  some  are  muley  ? 

Let's  quit  singing  the  "Sweet  By-and-by"  and  sing  the  "Sweet- 
Now-and-now." 

Ie  you  tell  me  what  you  love  and  what  you  hate,  I  will  tell  you 
your  character. 

If  the  devil  ever  puts  his  foot  upon  a  woman  once,  she  never 
gets  up  any  more. 

The  biggest  fool  God's  eyes  ever  looked  upon  is  the  woman  who 
stirs  the  toddy  for  her  husband. 

Ie  my  daughter  only  had  one  dress  that  should  be  a  whole  one. 
If  it  lacked  anything  at  all  I  should  cut  it  off  at  the  bottom  and  not 
at  the  top. 

They  will  put  you  in  jail  for  stealing  a  man's  money,  but  you 
can  be  an  average  church  member  and  steal  a  man's  character. 

It  is  worth  something  to  a  man  to  belong  to  a  good  family. 

Oed  sinners  are  not  satisfied  with  us  unless  we  live  better  than 
they  do. 

A  MAN  is  not  a  sinner  because  he  is  an  infidel;  he  is  an  infidel 
because  he  is  a  sinner. 

I  RATHER  like  the  expression  of  that  good  old  woman  who  cried 
out :  "Oh,  Lord,  if  you  will  only  save  me  in  this  world,  you  shall 
never  hear  the  last  of  it  in  the  next." 

Gossip  is  always  about  a  person.  Decent  talk  is  about  things, 
and  unless  your  neighbor  is  a  thing  you  frequently  indulge  in  gossip. 

A  MAN  don't  have  to  live,  but  a  man  must  do  right  if  he  wants  to 
come  out  right. 

I  woN^T  sell  whisky.  As  I  told  you  once,  I've  been  fool  enough 
to  drink  it,  but  never  was  fool  enough  to  sell  it.     [Laughter.] 


458  Sam  P.  Jones. 

A  GOOD  many  people  are  going  to  be  good  when  they  get  to 
heaven.  Well,  old  feller,  you'd  better  be  good  down  here  or  you 
won't  get  in. 

A  GREAT  many  members  of  the  church  in  town,  you  can't  trust 
them  all ;  they  won't  pay  you.  Just  think  of  a  man  afraid  of  getting 
lo  heaven  for  fear  of  meeting  his  creditors. 

Now,  don't  you  go  away  and  say  Sam  Jones  encouraged  you  to 
commit  suicide,  'cause  I  didn't.  But  I'd  go  down  to  the  harbor  and 
crawl  under  a  wharf  and  die  before  I'd  sell  whisky,  though. 

IVE-  been  solemn  many  times,  and  I  went  to  a  doctor  for  it,  I  did. 
1  found  I  had  a  diseased  liver,  and  got  a  prescription  for  it.  And 
there's  many  a  fellow  going  through  this  world  taking  diseased 
liver  for  a  clean  heart.     [Laughter.] 

Whenever  I  see  an  old  maid  I  just  know  some  feller  hain't  done 
•his  duty;  and  when  I  see  an  old  bachelor,  it  makes  me  think  of  a 
hog.    I  don't  know  why  it  comes  up  in  this  connection,  but  it  does. 

There's  preachers  in  this  town  that  wouldn't  create  a  ripple  of 
laughter  in  their  audience  for  any  price — I  don't  believe  they  could, 
anyway.  They  say  the  dignity  of  the  pulpit  must  be  maintained  at 
any  cost,  and  all  they  have  done  is  to  keep  the  pulpit  way  up  in  the 
air.     [Laughter.] 

I  WANT  to  see  people  come  to  prayer-meeting  with  a  rush ;  pray 
with  a  rush ;  sing  with  a  rush ;  and  stop  a-blowing  about  their  aches 
and  pains,  ups  and  downs. 

Fee  tell  you  how  I've  stood  all  I've  been  through.  I'm  always  in 
a  good  humor,  I  am.  I  believe  that  fun  is  the  next  best  thing  to 
religion,  and  if  religion  can't  triumph  over  temperament,  it  ain't 
much  account. 

Did  you  ever  hear  a  shout  in  Boston  ?  If  five  or  six  would  go  ter 
shouting  here  in  this  place  to-day,  a  lot  of  old  Avomen  would  jump 
up  hysterically,  and  say,  "Oh,  I  just  can't  stand  this  excitement  in 
.a  church."    And  these  same  old  women  will  go  home  to-night  and 


Sam  p.  Jonbs.  459 

raise  the  devil  with  the  cook  over  some  burnt  biscuit.      [Great 
laughter.  ] 

It  does  tickle  me  to  see  the  old  devil's  old  gang  trying  to  do  like 
the  young  gang.  Some  people  in  the  church  have  run  so  long  that 
when  the  devil  taps  his  gong  you  ah,  old  people,  hope  to  respond. 
[Laughter.] 

Why  not  preach  the  gospel  so  that  it  tastes  good  ?  I  always  like 
sugar  in  my  coffee  and  salt  in  my  bread.     [Laughter.] 

Give  me  the  gospel  in  its  purity  and  power,  and  so  I  can  relish  it. 
[Amens.]  Fix  it  so  they'll  love  it.  "Delight  yourself  in  your 
Lord." 

Give  me  a  cheerful,  bright,  happy  Christian' that  loves  God  and 
carries  his  love  in  his  heart.  I've  mixed  with  all  classes;  haven't 
mixed  much  with  the  solemn  crowds,  though,  and  don't  have  to. 

When  St.  Peter  said  "add  to  your  knowledge  temperance,"  he  did 
not  have  reference  to  yoii  old  red-nosed  Methodists.  Any  man  who 
pretends  to  be  a  Christian  and  drinks  whisky  is  a  great  big  old  hum- 
bug— a  two-legged  hypocrite. 

Society  is  a  heartless  old  wretch,  and  if  you  don't  get  out  of  it 
you  will  go  to  hell  with  it. 

When  the  doctor  says  you  can't  live  but  an  hour  you'll  want  just 
such  a  preacher  as  myself  talking  to  you. 

God  bores  through  the  top  of  a  man's  head  to  his  heart  and  on 
down  to  his  pocket. 

If  any  of  you  don't  like  the  way  these  services  are  going,  there- 
are  three  doors — you  are  cordially  asked  to  leave. 

When  your  little  cup's  full  you  can  just  back  out. 

Red  liquor  and  Christianity  won't  stay  in  the  same  hide. 

How  lovely  is  a  patient  woman.  God  pity  the  man  who  has  a 
forked-tongued  wife. 


CHAPTER  L. 


Sayings  of  Sam  P.  Jones  (Continued). 

Every  unfaithful  official,  every  little  prosecuting  attorney  who 
compounds  a  felony  or  compromises  a  crime,  is  an  insult  to  the 
American  people  and  very  fit  to  be  called  worse  names  than  crimi- 
nals themselves. 

Nine  out  of  ten  of  these  indecent  pictures  you  see  posted  around 
the  streets  on  the  walls  are  of  women.  Is  it  possible  that  women 
are  leading  the  immodesty  of  the  age  ?  And  do  you  know  that  peo- 
ple get  their  cues  largely  from  pictures  ? 

What  you  should  want  is  an  honest  dollar,  honestly  earned.  The 
kind  of  a  dollar  which  a  man  can  put  into  his  trousers  pocket,  put 
his  trousers  under  his  pillow  and  let  the  eagle  on  the  coin  change 
into  a  nightingale  and  sing  him  to  sleep. 

Terms  like  "hog"  and  "dog"  sound  very  grating  and  harsh  to  the 
ears  of  some  of  the  good  people.  But  residetits  of  a  city  where 
twenty-three  hundred  saloons  are  running  every  day  in  the  week 
are  the  last  people  who  should  clamor  for  decency. 

And  these  fat  old  women,  who  must  have  their  beer  for  their 
health's  sake !  They  make  me  tired,  that's  what  they  do.  If  I  had 
a  wife  like  that,  when  I  went  home  I  wouldn't  say  "Where  is  your 
mother?"  or  "Where  is  she?"  but  simply,  "Where  is  it?" 

Ie  a  man  has  a  pull  he  can  commit  every  crime  known  to  the  laws 
of  the  State  and  go  unwhipped  of  justice.  I  imagine  that  there  are 
about  two  thousand  men  with  a  pull  who  break  the  Sunday  laws  in 
this  city  every  week  and  are  never  called  to  account  for  it. 

The  preacher  has  many  opportunities  that  he  does  not  avail  him- 

(460) 


THOMAS  DUNHAM,  FOR  TWENTY-ONE  YIvARS,  HIS  FAITHFUL  FRIEND. 


Sam  p.  Jones.  461 

-self  of.  He  eats  his  breakfast,  reads  his  letters  and  attends  to  his 
correspondence  until  noon.  Then  he  says,  "I'm  tired.  I  think  I'll 
lie  down  and  rest  this  afternoon,"  and  all  the  time  the  devil  is  busy 
working  away. 

We  preachers  do  not  any  longer  speak  with  authority.  If  I  should 
go  through  Edison's  laboratory  and  he  should  tell  me  not  to  touch 
a  live  wire  I  would  not  do  so.  I  should  be  an  angel  in  a  minute. 
Preachers  tell  a  man  if  he  keeps  on  sinning  he  will  go  to  hell,  and  he 
leaves  the  church,  saying :   "Shucks,  I  have  heard  that  before." 

Ie  a  lot  of  bums,  thugs  and  low-down  people  were  to  get  together 
and  form  a  club  and  buy  the  best  liquor  they  could  get  their  hands 
on  and  open  a  room  somewhere,  I'll  warrant  you  it  would  not  be  long 
before  the  police  would  raid  it.  But  let  it  be  a  rich  man's  club;  let 
its  members  have  plenty  of  money,  gild  their  deviltry,  put  plenty  of 
frills  and  laces  on  it,  and  there  isn't  a  policemen  that  won't  walk  by 
the  door,  raising  his  hat  to  the  club-house. 

I  WAS  born  a  Democrat  and  raised  a  Democrat,  and  remained  a 
Democrat  as  long  as  I  thought  a  Christian  gentleman  could.  Then 
I  pulled  out.  You  Republicans  need  not  laugh.  I  thank  God  I 
never  got  low  enough  to  run  with  your  gang.  You  Republicans 
claim  to  be  a  party  of  great  moral  ideas.  It's  a  great  lie.  You  ran 
this  party  for  thirty  years  on  a  dead-stretch,  and  then  when  you 
turned  it  over  to  the  Democrats  it  was  soaked  in  whisky  from  Maine 
to  California,  and  the  government  was  in  partnership  with  the  whole 
damnable  business. 

The  roar  of  commerce,  the  click  of  the  telegraph  and  the  whistle 
of  the  engine  have  well-nigh  drowned  out  the  voice  of  God. 

We  little  preachers  think  that  we  are  doing  first-rate  if  we  take 
a  text  and  announce  about  three  propositions  and  discuss  them  for 
an  hour.  But  do  you  know  that  Christ  in  His  sermon  on  the  Mount 
announced  and  discussed  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  different 
propositions  in  the  compass  of  half  an  hour  ? 

'  Ie  I  had  a  creed  I  would  sell  it  to  a  museum.    Creed  shows  itself 


462  Sam  P.  Jones. 

in  the  laws  of  the  last  few  hundred  years.  It  was  over  creed  that 
men  fought,  and  not  over  Christ.  Orthodoxes  are  what  has  ruined 
this  world. 

The  back  door  of  the  church  ought  to  be  opened  once  a  year  and' 
give  all  who  have  not  lived  up  to  its  rules  an  opportunity  to  pass  out. 

Bob  Ingersole — and  I  never  call  his  name  without  feeling  the 
need  of  a  disinfectant — says  whisky  is  God's  worst  enemy  and  the 
devil's  best  friend.    He  is  good  authority  on  that  side. 

When  I  first  started  out  I  was  afraid  I  would  hurt  somebody's- 
feelings.     Now  I  am  afraid  I  won't. 

You  may  not  like  my  grammar.  I  am  trying  to  get  my  style  and: 
grammar  down  on  a  level  with  you. 

God  can't  elect  any  man  unless  he  is  a  candidate. 

Every  barroom  is  a  recruiting  office  for  hell. 

Sow  whisky  and  you'll  reap  drunkards. 

Christ  won't  stay  in  a  house  with  the  cellar  full  of  whisky. 

The  most  demoralizing  and  damning  thing  and  the  most  insidious- 
is  the  city  club. 

I  HAVE  seen  men  converted  from  the  barroom  and  from  every- 
thing else,  but  never,  never  have  I  seen  a  man  converted  from  a  club.. 

Reeigion  don't  help  a  fellow  to  quit  his  meanness,  but  it  helos> 
him  to  stay  quit. 

Doubts  are  but  the  children  of  sin. 

Repentance  is  quitting  your  meanness. 

IneidELITy  is  nine-tenths  mouth. 

Give  your  heart  to  God  and  he  will  comb  the  kinks  out  of  your- 
head. 

If  ever  my  daughters  cut  off  any  of  their  skirts,  I  don't  want  them? 
to  cut  from  the  top. 


Sam  p.  Jon^s.  463 

The;  tune  of  America  is  pitched  to  the  dollar. 

A  MAN  is  never  any  better  in  politics  than  his  party. 

You  can't  bribe  God's  grand  jury  when  you  come  to  judgment. 

You  can  cover  up  everything  this  side  of  hell  with  a  five-dollar 
fcill. 

Custom  is  the  law  of  fools,  and  is  ruining  this  country. 

God  pity  the  man  who  can't  run  his  home  without  a  deck  of  cards. 
He  ought  to  have  been  in  hell  long  before  he  had  children  born  unto 
him. 

Ii''  any  man  don't  like  what  I  say,  let  him  come  to  me  afterwards 
and  say  so,  and  I'll — forgive  him. 

You  dance  with  this  world  and  you'll  go  to  hell  with  this  world. 

I  HAVE)  no  respect  for  Mahone's  politics,  but  I  like  his  answer  to 
the  question,  how  much  he  weighed.  He  said :  "I  weigh  ninety-five 
pounds,  but  ninety  pounds  of  that  is  backbone." 

There  is  more  religion  in  laughing  than  in  crying.  If  religion 
consists  in  crying  I  have  the  best  boy  in  the  world. 

I  PHOTOGRAPH  your  own  ugliness,  and  you  sit  here  and  laugh 
at  it. 

Some  people  say  I  ought  not  to  call  a  drinking  man  a  lying  rascal. 
If  he  drinks,  ain't  he  a  rascal  ?  And  if  he  says  he  can't  quit,  ain't  he 
lying?  Now  couple  the  two  things  together  and  you  have  the  lying 
rascal.    I  talk  plain.    I  call  a  spade  a  spade  and  a  hog  a  hog. 

I  AM  a  Methodist,  and  want  to  be  the  best  one  God  ever  made. 

I  don't  worry  much  about  the  mysteries  of  the  Bible  or  Melchiz- 
edeck's  children,  or  such  things  as  that. 

Ie  I  understood  all  about  the  Bible,  I'd  know  that  somebody  that 
■didn't  have  any  more  sense  than  I  have  wrote  it. 

To  think  of  the  saloons  being  kept  alive  by  members  of  the  church. 


464  Sam  P.  Jones. 

I  don't  speak  from  a  theological,  but  a  logical  standpoint.  I 
never  studied  theology  a  moment  in  my  life. 

The  word  "convert"  is  from  the  Latin  terms  con  and  verto 
— "turn  altogether."  Now,  I  used  to  think  that  every  old  sinner 
was  in  a  wilderness  of  sin  and  that  it  would  take  him  a  week  to  find 
the  road  out,  but  I've  found  out  now  that  when  a  man's  converted 
all  he  has  to  do  is  to  turn  right  about. 

Now^  when  a  man  wants  to  be  converted  he  musn't  just  "con," 
nor  he  musn't  just  "verto."    He  must  "converto" — turn  altogether. 

Now_,  you've  had  your  back  on  heaven  and  going  hellward  all  your 
life.  Do  you  want  the  illustration  any  plainer  than  that?  Here's 
a  man  who  has  been  drinking  all  his  life.  He  is  going  to  a  saloon. 
He  decides  to  quit.  What  must  he  do  to  be  converted?  He  must 
turn  from  liquor  and  join  a  temperance  society,  which  is  the  anti- 
podes of  the  saloon. 

A  CONVERSION  isn't  worth  anything  unless  its  a  double  conver- 
sion.   A  man  must  be  converted  from  something  to  something. 

I  WAS  converted  from  whisky  to  prohibition — uncompromising 
prohibition. 

The  only  thing  I  have  to  say  against  the  saloon-keeper  is  that  he 
is  just  like  a  louse.    He  makes  his  living  off  the  heads  of  families. 

I  HAVE  more  respect  for  an  old  toper  than  one  of  these  elegant 
gentlemen  who  go  in  and  drink  liquor  at  a  saloon,  and  then  pose  as 
churchmen  outside. 


